The Alice Games
by Carolle Royale
Summary: Every year, a boy and girl are selected from each District to compete in the Games and fight till death. There is no mercy for the Tributes and once you're selected, there's no turning back. The Hunger Games with an Alice Twist. Let the Games begin. *1
1. 16th Birthday

**Disclaimer:** **All recognizable characters belong to Tachibana Higuchi and the 'Games' part of this story belongs to Suzzane Collins. This story is mine with many parallels to the Gakuen Alice manga**

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><p><strong>Author's Note : <strong>Hello everyone! I guess I'm probably a bit mad for trying to write a story like this but well, I've never been the sanest of sorts. Like the title clearly suggests, I have taken the 'Games' part from 'The Hunger Games' and have inserted it into the Alice World. In fact, this story is sort of a mixture between 'The Hunger Games' and 'Divergent'. My plot, obviously is different, but I've taken a few things from both of those books. I got this idea right after I had finished reading The Hunger Games (Yes, you can see how obsessed I was with that book, it's funny how I never had the urge to write fanfiction for that) and I realized that I hadn't seen anyone try this for a GA fanfic yet. So I figured I'd give it a shot. Technically this isn't a crossover because I'm just sticking to the GA characters.

**Warning** : This story might get a bit violent in the middle. If that's the case, I'll probably be changing the rating. And one more thing; People _will_ die in this story. I'm a total sucker for happy endings but for this one...well I'm not so sure. Read and find out ;)

So here's the first chapter! :)

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><p><strong>The Alice Games<br>Chapter 1:**_16th Birthday_

**~(*)~**

"Mikan!"

I grunt and roll over to the other side of my bed and pull my blanket securely around me. I know that voice, but hopefully it's only a part of my dream.

"Mikan!" the voice says a bit more urgently this time.

I squeeze my eyes shut and sink lower into my bed. I don't want to get up. Hell, I _never_ want to get up. I hate mornings. Actually hate would be an understatement. I _loathe_ mornings with every single fibre of my being. Why can't it just be night forever? Who the hell wants to get up anyways? Well apparently my Uncle thinks I need to.

"Mikan! Get up this instant!" he says, his voice sounding rather impatient. "You're getting late for school!"

And instantly, within a second, a pair of hands is jerking the blanket off of me. I squeal, my eyes opening immediately. "Uncle!" I wail as I look towards where he's standing. He has my soft blue blanket in his hands. Grr…

He shakes his head. "You've got plenty of sleep."

I open my mouth to protest; I actually hadn't gotten any sleep. Most of my night was spent idly tossing and turning. It was only early in the morning when sleep decided to wash over me. But Uncle interrupts me. "Happy Birthday Mikan," he says with a small smile on his face.

I gaze at him, curious. I'm positive I saw hints of sadness in his eyes but they are gone in a flash and replaced with amusement. "Do you really want to go to school wearing your pyjamas on your birthday?" he asks playfully.

I shake my head and grin at him. "No. I'll go get ready now."

He shoots me one last smile. "Don't forget to brush your hair."

I roll my eyes at him. "I'm sixteen, uncle," I say. "I think I will remember to brush my hair."

He laughs but it sounds strained to my ears and he knows it too. "Sixteen..." he murmurs. "You're ready for the Alice Aptitude Test, aren't you?"

Ah.

The Alice Aptitude Test.

I nod. "Yes Uncle. There's not much to it. Besides, what can possibly go wrong with the Nullification Alice?" I joke.

"Nothing." But he says it too quickly. "Now go get ready before you actually become late." He smiles briefly at me again and then swiftly walks out of my room.

I watch as he closes the door shut behind him and then let out a sigh.

Sixteen.

I'm sixteen. The thought doesn't scare me actually, which is unusual. Normally everyone dreads turning sixteen for it's the time for taking the Alice Aptitude Test which determines your Alice type and according to your Alice type it determines which District you shall live in for the rest of your life- provided that you're _not_ a Tribute in the Games.

I don't see why Uncle is so flustered; it's very rare for someone to change districts. I've only heard of it once or twice in History class. Other than that, whatever Alice type you are born into is where you live. Well at least this is the case for District 4, The Special Type.

I don't know much about the other Districts, nobody in 4 does. It's against the law to mingle with Alices from the other Districts. Even our History Textbook limits the knowledge about the other Districts. All I know is that there are a total of 5 Districts in Alicestansia. District 1 is the Latent Ability Type, District 2 is the Technical Ability Type, District 3 is the Somatic Ability Type, District 4 is the Special Ability Type and District 5 is the Dangerous Ability Type. Each is controlled by one of President Kuoniji's council members. Approximately 21 years ago, there was a massive uprising against the Alice Academy (the prestigious one, now each District has its own Alice Academy). At that time there were no Districts, all the Alices were free to live anywhere. That all changed when President Kuoniji (who was the Elementary School principal) won and overthrew the Alice Government and declared himself the President of the new country, Alicestansia. During the Alice War, more than two-thirds of Japan was destroyed. With the help of the Reclamation Alice, President Kuoniji rebuilt Japan and named it Alicestansia- a country only for Alices.

But to remind us where the power lies, he introduced The Alice Games.

I shudder. Just thinking about The Games gives me chills down my spine. I quickly walk to my bathroom and start brushing my teeth. I notice that there are bags under my eyes due to lack of sleep the previous night. I splash the cold water over my face and dab the towel on my cheek. There is no time for me to take a shower, I'm already late.

With that thought in mind, I change into my school uniform which consists of a black skirt chequered with blue stripes and a white shirt with the label 'Alice Academy: Special Division' on it.

Within ten minutes, I'm ready and out of the door. I skip eating breakfast, I really can't bear sitting with Uncle when he's in one of his _moods_ again.

The Academy is not that far away from my house, just a 15 minute walk. But still, 15 minutes can make me late. On my way however, I meet Nonoko, so I'm reassured that I'm not late. She's in most of my classes along with Anna and she's known to be very punctual.

"Mikan!" she calls as she walks towards me, her bag strapped on one shoulder. "Happy Birthday!" she chirps excitedly.

I grin at her, "Thanks!"

"So doing anything special today?" she asks me as we both walk towards the Academy. We pass the Mayor's house on the way. He's one of the members of President Kuoniji's council. One of those ruthless bastards. I even voiced out my thoughts about the Mayor to my Uncle once. He was furious at me, which was expected. He did work under the Mayor after all...

"Well if you call going to the Aptitude test special...then yes."

The smile falls from her face. "I'm so sorry Mikan! I wasn't thinking! I-,"

But I cut her off by laughing. "It's all right, Nonoko. I'm not going anywhere," I say firmly.

She nods but her expression is still weary. "Don't tell anyone I told you but, apparently there has been a new transfer from District 1."

I widen my eyes, "You're kidding!"

Nonoko shakes her head, "I'm serious. I heard he came yesterday."

I let that new piece of information sink in. So District transfers _were_ possible. I let out a small breath. My Alice can't possibly be placed anywhere but here, in the Special Ability District. It just can't.

We reach the Academy soon where we both part ways; I have History first while Nonoko has Literature.

"See you at lunch!" she exclaims as she enters her class.

I give her one last smile before heading on my way to History. I quickly stop by my locker to grab my textbook; it's far too heavy for me to put in my bag. Funny thing is, we hardly ever use our textbooks. They're mostly just there as show pieces.

"Mikan! My favourite little junior!"

I turn around and am caught in a massive hug. "Misaki! You're squishing me!" I say in between giggles. She lets go of me and then gives me a grin. "Well it's not every day my little orange turns 16!"

I return her grin. She has called me 'Orange' ever since I had told her that my name is Mikan. "Where's Tsubasa?" I ask glancing over her shoulder in search for the black haired shadow manipulator.

Misaki shrugs. "I think he went to class."

"Class?" I ask, disbelief marking my features, "Already?"

Misaki chuckles and then lifts her hand to ruffle my hair. "Well he likes to pretend to be a good student once in a while." She winks at me. "But don't worry he'll wish you 'Happy Birthday'."

"Class? Honestly Misaki? Is that the best excuse you can think of?"

Misaki groans. "You were supposed to come after I said 'Potatoes' Andou!" she says, exasperated.

I stifle a giggle at that. Potatoes? That was their code word?

Tsubasa grunts. "I thought it was Orange."

Misaki shoots him a glare, "You know I _always_ call her that."

He shrugs. "Whatever." He then turns to me and says, "Happy Birthday Mikan!"

"Thanks Tsubasa."

"Here," he stuffs his hand into his pocket and brings out a small box, "It's a small gift from me and Misaki."

"You really didn't have to..." I murmur eyeing the box.

"Oh rubbish," Misaki states as she grabs the box from Tsubasa's hand. "Take it."

She places the small box in my hand. I open it carefully. Inside it is a small pendant.

"It's beautiful," I say awestruck. Because it certainly is. It's a small clear pendant shaped like a star. I inspect it and while I'm turning it around I notice that it glimmers different colours in the light.

"It's supposed to bring you good luck," Tsubasa informs me. "My grandmother had the Good Luck Alice."

"The Good Luck Alice?" I ask. I've never heard of that before.

Misaki nods. "Yeah. Andou's grandmother could make jewellery which would actually bring the owner luck."

Tsubasa grins, "Amazing, isn't it?"

I nod eagerly. "Definitely. I'm going to wear it right now!" I quickly put the pendant around my neck and fasten the little loop of the chain.

"I knew you'd like it!" Misaki chirps cheerfully as she sneaks a glance at her watch. "Crap!" she exclaims. "We're late for Chemistry Andou!"

Tsubasa's eyes widen. "Seriously?"

"Yes you moron! Why would I lie?"

"Sorry Mikan, but I guess both of us have to go," he says apologetically.

"That's all right. I have to go to class too."

"And happy birthday once again!" Misaki calls as she and Tsubasa walk down the corridor.

I smile as I look at the pendant. If it is truly what Tsubasa says it is, I'm sure that today will be a very lucky day for me.

School was uneventful, which was what I was expecting. Sure, everyone wished me 'Happy Birthday' but I knew that they were secretly sad for me; everyone dreads turning 16. It's actually quite useless, the whole dreading the Aptitude Test. Almost everyone knows that their chances of being transferred to another district are practically zero. Anna tells me not to worry. But she doesn't have to. I'm not worrying. Everyone _else_ is.

So with absolutely no fear whatsoever, I walk back home. Nonoko isn't with me this time, she said she had to go and meet someone and wished me good luck for the test.

"Mikan!" A voice calls out from behind.

I turn around. Misaki and Tsubasa are walking towards me. Tsubasa's hands are shoved deep into his pockets-the usual- and Misaki has a book with her. I grin at that. Though it may not look like it, Misaki adores books.

"Hey guys!" I say, smiling at both of them. Other than Nonoko and Anna, I talk to Tsubasa and Misaki the most despite the fact that both of them are two years older than me.

"We wanted to wish you good luck," Tsubasa says.

I roll my eyes, "Oh please. Why in the world would I need good luck when I have this?" I ask indicating at the pendant around my throat.

Misaki cracks a grin. "True that," she murmurs, "But just be careful Mikan."

I frown at her. What's there to be careful about? Do they know something that I don't? Seeing my expression Tsubasa sighs. "Ignore Misaki. She says she had a strange dream."

"_Andou!"_ Misaki hisses, pinching his arm.

He winces. "Did you really need to do that?"

Misaki rolls her eyes. "Do you want us to walk you back home?"

I shake my head. "No it's all right. I can walk by myself." Because honestly, I can. It's not that hard. Plus what could possibly happen to me?

Tsubasa looks doubtful though. "Are you sure?"

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes! I'm not a little kid anymore!"

Misaki sighs. "Yes. _We know_. Bu-"

"Honestly, Misaki," I say not allowing her to finish. "You and Tsubasa should go back home. I'm getting late for the Aptitude test."

That causes Tsubasa to stiffen. "About that," he starts looking around nervously as if he doesn't want to be overheard by anyone else, "Last night there was a transfer from District –"

"1," I say interrupting him, "-I _know_."

He frowns, "I was going to say 3 but wait... there's been a transfer from 1 too?"

I nearly groan out loud. What am I thinking? Even though they're my friends, I can't just say things like that. I promised Nonoko that I wouldn't tell anyone.

There goes my promise.

I quickly shake my head. "I was just kidding."

But I know he's not convinced because I can tell by the dark look in his eyes. But he lets it go for some odd reason. Probably doesn't want to argue with me on my birthday. "Just be careful."

Be careful? With what?

Misaki shoots him a look. "Could you try _not_ to scare her?"

Tsubasa fakes a laugh. "Sorry about that," he raises a hand to ruffle my hair playfully. "See you tomorrow."

I give both of them one of my brightest beams. Tomorrow.

I can't wait for tomorrow- When all this stupid Alice Aptitude Test nonsense is over.

**~(*)~**

Clouds are strange things.

They come in so many different sizes, shapes and colours. No two clouds are identical just like no two human beings are identical. But the funny thing is that all clouds are made up of tiny water particles, so they all should be uniform, shouldn't they? I watch the clouds floating over District 4 as I sit in my Uncle's black Toyota. Very few people own cars nowadays, most of them use the subways. My Uncle Kazu is one of the very lucky ones to have their car intact after the Alice War. I wonder how he saved it, but I've never asked.

We soon pass the Main City where all the shops and restaurants are located. It's 6 'o'clock so the place is full of Alices shopping, walking, eating and whatnot. I see a bunch of my classmates at Zoe's Pizza Bar. I look at them wistfully. I had been invited. But I couldn't go for obvious reasons.

"How long will the Test take?" I ask Uncle Kazu who has his eyes glued on to the road in front of him.

He shrugs before answering. "It depends."

"On?"

"The person," he looks at me from the corner of his eyes. "Mine took a mere five minutes."

I let that information sink in. Five minutes...that's pretty quick.

"What was it like?"

He pauses for a minute before answering. "To be honest, I thought it was the scariest thing I'd ever experienced. But then again, nothing can ever compete with what happened during the War."

Oh thanks Uncle. That really helps. But before I can ask him another question, the car comes to a halt. I nearly jerk in my seat, it was that sudden.

"Well," he says his gaze darting to the brown building in front of us. "We're here."

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><p>Reviews would be lovely :)<p>

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><p><em>Carolle Royale<em>


	2. Alice Aptitude Test

**Chapter 2: Alice Aptitude Test**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: Neither Gakuen Alice nor The Hunger Games or Divergent belongs to me. Buut this story does :)<strong>

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><p><strong>Author's Note : <strong>This story is based on 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins. However, none of the Hunger Games characters are present here. I've just taken the plot-more like just the 'Games' part actually and have inserted it into the Alice World. So any recongzible ideas, all go to Suzzane Collins or Veronica Roth. But other ideas, are mine :)

Thanks for all the reviews/alerts/favourites, guys! :D

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><p><strong>The Alice Games<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 2 :<strong> _The Alice Aptitude Test_

**~(*)~**

Never in my life have I imagined the Test Centre looking like this. The building is full of people! If I hadn't known what the building really is, I would've thought it was a normal Alice Office or something along those lines. I am currently seated in the waiting room with Uncle Kazu next to me. He's reading some sort of magazine (or is it a newspaper?) while I idly glance at the television screen. Nothing interesting is on, just something about The Council. I can hardly care less if one of the Council's members' wives is having an affair with another woman. That seems trivial compared to what us, the normal Alices have to go through.

I sigh as I look at my watch. Half an hour has already passed. How long do they expect me to wait? Don't they know that I have homework? The teachers have no mercy. They gave me bloody homework on my birthday.

"Uncle," I practically groan. "How long do I have to wait?"

He doesn't look up from his magazine. "They'll be here any minute now."

And right then, a head pops around the corner. "Mikan Sakura. You are next."

I furrow my eyebrows. That voice is familiar…

"Mikan! Are you coming or not?"

Koko?

I nearly bounce out of my seat and take a look at the owner of the voice. It _is_ Koko! "What are you doing here?" I ask him as I wave a small 'bye' to my Uncle.

"Good bye Mikan," Uncle says so quietly that I wonder if he had said it at all.

Koko grins at me. "Part time job."

"At the Test Centre?" I ask, astonished. I've never heard of anyone this young working at the Test Centre. Koko is just my age! He can't possibly work here!

Koko smirks. "I've got connections."

I frown at him. Damn. Mind Readers are so annoying! The second I let my guard down, their Alice works on me. "You never told me that you worked here."

He laughs sheepishly."Ahh well," he runs a nervous hand through his chestnut brown hair. "Today's my first day."

I blink. "Seriously?"

He nods earnestly."Yup. Now," he holds open a door. "You have to go through that."

"You sure know your way around this place."

"It's part of my job."

"So," I start again once he closes the door behind us. "How do you like working here?"

Koko grins. "I don't know about the work but the food here is to die for."

I shake my head. Trust Koko to bring food into this. So typically _him._

"So what's this I hear about you and Anna?" I ask slyly.

Ha. Bet you didn't see that coming, Mind Reader.

I see his neck turning pink. "What?" he asks trying to look innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Sure," I say laughing. "So you have no idea who sent her those love letters during Math today?"

"That wasn't me!"

I roll my eyes. "Save it Koko. I know it was you."

"What are you, a multi-Alice?" he scoffs.

I gape at him. "Don't say things like that here!" I hiss. Oh god. Does he have a death wish? He must have or he's just insanely stupid. I mean, who says things like that? Especially here, where everything is monitored by The Council and President Kuoniji?

Koko rolls his eyes. "Relax Mikan. I was only kidding."

"Yes," I huff. "I know that."

He suddenly stops walking. "There."

"There what?"

He points at a black door with the number '7' etched on it in gold paint. "That's your Test Room."

Okay. So I'm officially here. Right in front of the Test Room. No big deal whatsoever.

"So I just go in?" I ask.

He nods. "Your analyzer is already inside." He then grins at me. "See you at school tomorrow Mikan."

I grin back. See that's what I'm talking about! I like people like Koko. He actually has faith in me unlike some other people I happen to know...

I take a deep breath before placing my hand on the doorknob. I slowly open the door. I see a slender man sitting on top of the table. He's wearing something which seems strikingly like a suit, but isn't one. I'm not sure though, it could be. After all, not that many people in District 4 wear suits. That can be seen a lot in District 2 - or so I've heard. We're the casual types. The second he hears the door opening he looks up and smiles at me.

"You must be Mikan Sakura!" He says as he walks towards the door to where I'm standing. Suddenly I'm being pulled (not exactly pulled, more like escorted) into the room. I notice that the walls are red. I cringe slightly. The shade of red is far too bright for my liking. It reminds me of freshly spilt blood like the ones they show on The Games.

"I'm Narumi," the man continues, "and I shall be your Test Analyzer."

"Hello Mr. Narumi," I say as politely as I can muster. It's quite hard to be polite to someone who practically dragged you into a room. But somehow…he looks familiar. I'm not sure, but I can almost swear that I've seen his face before.

He looks at me curiously. "Nullification Alice, is it?"

I raise an eyebrow but don't bother questioning him on how he knows. It's probably written in my record. "Yes," I answer carefully.

His gaze is still fixed on me. "No wonder you haven't reacted to my Alice," he murmurs thoughtfully.

"Your Alice?" I ask baffled. What does he mean I haven't reacted to his Alice? I can only react if he uses it on me.

"I have the Human Pheromone Alice," Narumi states.

I freeze. Did he just say Pheromone Alice? "Wait...aren't you from District 3?" If what he's saying is true, it's the first time I've ever met an Alice from a different District.

He nods. "The one and only. It's a great place!" he chirps, but his eyes tell a completely different story.

"What are you doing here in District 4?"

"So blunt…" he murmurs, the smile still on his face. "Well it's a part of my job. I move from various districts to conduct the Aptitude Tests."

"Okay," I mumble. That makes sense. Sort of. "Do you travel often?"

"Yes," He says but his eyes are sparkling with amusement like I've missed the joke or something. "I do. But enough of that," he pauses, "- are you ready for the test?"

I nod. I'm ready. The only thing I have to do is sit on the chair while he injects me with the Analyzer serum.

"Okay," he continues. "I take it that you know what to do, is that correct?"

I nod once again. They've only been teaching us for the past three years. So yes, I think I know what to do.

"Good. Please sit on the chair over there," he indicates to the chair at the other side of the room.

I walk over to the chair and sit down on it. I see Narumi opening a drawer and shudder slightly. He's holding a long needle. He sees me wincing and gives me a sympathetic smile. "It doesn't hurt. Don't worry."

I let out a breath I hadn't realized that I was holding. "Okay."

He smiles at me again-what is wrong with this man? He's about to inject me and he's smiling? Has he gone bonkers? "Now close your eyes," he says, "and count to five." I hear footsteps shuffling towards me so I know he's on his way to inject me with a 3 inch needle.

No pressure.

_1_

I squeeze my eyes shut. I don't want to watch myself get injected.

_2_

I try to calm myself down.

_3_

Calming process.

_4_

...

5

Oh god.

All I see is a sky full of lighters. This must be heaven, I think. But I know that it's not true, it's all merely an illusion. It's twilight from what I can see and the sky is full of comets- or what I think are comets. I glance around my surroundings cautiously; there are just trees and wild bushes with berries. I frown slightly, from what I've heard from the older students in my school, the illusion is supposed to be...scary. I don't know why but that's what all of them had told me when I had asked. I shrug. Maybe this was going to get scary in a few seconds? But it's probably all due to my Nullification, I mean I guess that's the reason why nothing seems to affect me.

But I'm wrong.

Suddenly someone grabs my shoulder, making me spin around with my fists clenched. I relax them when I see who it is. It's just a small girl. I soften. What could this small girl possibly do to me?

She has a worried expression plastered on her face and her eyes are full of fear. "Be careful!" she whispers to me. "He's targeting you."

I merely laugh at this and immediately regret it. I widen my eyes as I see_ her _ -not a he-walking, no, stomping towards me.

The little girl notices my change in expression and immediately pales. "Good luck," she whispers one last time before dissipating into nothing.

I stand there with my mouth wide open. Did the girl just vanish like that? I shake my head slowly. This is just an illusion, I repeat to myself about six times. I snort slightly. I need good luck all right- that woman has got to be at least 7 feet tall. She's huge and has green hair and I can see a bunch of arrows placed neatly in a bag at her back. So even if I make a run for it, she'd merely take me down with her swift archery skills. So with no other choice, I just stand there while the gigantic woman approaches me.

She sneers when she sees me. "You lot get smaller by the day don't you?"

I tighten my jaw. Yes I know I'm short and very petite for my age. She doesn't need to tell me. But instead of yelling back at her, I merely smile. I know that ticks people off even more (I've had practice, you see) "Well you know what they say, better a small girl than a big buff one." Though I don't think people every say that. Oh well.

But that seems to hit a nerve for she scowls at me. "Well be prepared to die little Alice." The last part comes out as a hiss.

And before I know it, she's shooting flaming arrows right at my legs. I blink rapidly, trying to dodge them. What in the world is wrong with this woman? Suddenly an idea springs upon me. I have the Nullification Alice…

Grinning with victory, I merely stand there, rooted to the spot. The arrows which were aimed at me spring backwards as if there's an invisible barrier. I smirk. I knew having Nullification had its upsides.

Green-that's what I've dubbed her- growls with frustration. "Nullification, is it?"

"Yes," I reply still grinning like a fool. "Simply amazing, isn't it?"

She lets out an agitated howl. "If my arrows can't kill you, I'll kill you with my bare hands!"

And before I can even react, Green is standing right in front of me with a malicious sneer spreading across her face (which I notice is full of warts. Her face I mean, not her sneer). "Be prepared to die, Mikan Sakura!"

My eyes widen. Is she really going to kill me? No. This can't be real. This is just an illusion. I squeeze my eyes shut nonetheless. I don't want her pimply face and green hair to be the last thing I see before I die.

"Ready?" she asks me, the smirk still evident in her voice.

It's at times like this that I wish I had another Alice, something not defensive. I feel her hands grip my shoulders, squeezing them with all her might. I stifle a yelp- my shoulder is going to hurt for hours. That is, ifI live.

Her hands creep up to my neck.

"Au revoir," she says, her grip on my neck tightening.

Suddenly she lets out a shriek and her hands immediately leave my body. My eyes flash open. Green has somehow stumbled and is currently sprawled on the ground, tears pouring down her cheeks.

I know I shouldn't have any concern for someone who was just about to kill me but I take a step closer to her, mostly out of curiosity. She cowers.

"No," she whispers her voice devoid of its former haughtiness. "Don't come near me."

"Are you okay?"

She clutches her stomach and breathes heavily. I frown, my lips curling down ever so slightly. I haven't even done anything to injure her. Why is she acting as if I have? If anything,_I_ should be the one shrinking back in fear. Not her. After all, she did try to kill me with flaming arrows.

"You're in danger," she says her voice hoarse. "It'd be better if you just left."

I scoff at that. She just realized that I was in danger? I had realized that the second I laid eyes on her.

"Leave for where?"

"People like you will come to no good," she says, clearly avoiding my question.

"People like me?" I ask my voice slightly quivering.

"Yes." Green nods. "People like you."

"What's wrong with me?"

She smiles sadly, her expression full of pity. "You're a Multi-Alice user."

And then my world turns black.

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><p>A few people asked me what the different Districts are.(Though I'm pretty sure I mentioned all the Districts in the first chapter)Anyways here's the list :<p>

_District 1 - Latent Ability Type_  
><em>District 2 – Technical Ability Type<em>  
><em>District 3 –Somatic Ability Type<em>  
><em>District 4 –Special Ability Type<em>  
><em>District 5 – Dangerous Ability Type<em>

The Alice City is equivalent to The Hunger Games 'Capitol'. I don't think I've mentioned it in the story yet but it's there. Also this is sorta semi-canon-ish (Okay that sonds so stupid but yeah)so if you recognize anything from the manga, you know where I got it from. Anyways I hope you enjoyed! :)

How about a review? :)

_Carolle Royale_


	3. Results

**Disclaimer : GA nor HG belongs to me.**

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><p><strong>A N** : Thank you so much for all the reviews! The first few chapters may be a bit slow, since it's just the intro and all. But don't worry, there will be some action soon. Anyways here's the third chapter. Enjoy :)

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><p><strong>The Alice Games<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 3 :<strong> _Results _

**~(*)~**

I'm awoken by the growling sensation in my stomach. My eyes fly open and I take in my surroundings. I'm in a long room which strikingly resembles a research centre. The walls are a shade of ivory and I notice that there are no windows or doors anywhere. For a split second I panic; have I been abducted?

But then I notice Narumi standing a few feet away from me and my muscles relax. He's looking at something-a computer screen to be exact and has a frown on his face. I get up from the sofa (I have no idea how I got there) and walk towards him.

"Mr. Narumi?" I ask hesitantly as I near him.

He looks up from the screen and flashes me a smile. "Ah Mikan!" he chirps excitedly. "You're finally awake!"

I grimace slightly. How long had I been out for?

"What are you doing?" I ask instead, nodding towards the computer screen.

Narumi takes one last look at the screen before clicking on the mouse and then turns back to me. "I was just triple checking your results."

"Triple checking?"

He nods and I notice that all traces of his former bubbliness are gone. "What do you remember about the test?"

I scratch my head. The last thing I remember is a giant woman with green skin wanting to kill me and later saying that I'm a multi-Alice user. I guess this whole Test is another way for President Kouniji to mess with your brain. So I tell him that, excluding the last part of course. It wouldn't do for me to insult the President at the Test Centre, they'd definitely have me on their case if I did that.

I also tell him about the little girl I saw. Which causes him to frown. "You saw a little girl?" He asks me again for the third time.

"Yes," I tell him quite exasperated. Why would I lie?

"Are you sure?"

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. "Positive."

His frown deepens. "Sit." He pulls out a chair and motions for me to sit down on it.

I sit down carefully and my eyes immediately dart towards the computer screen to read my test results. But unfortunately for me, there's nothing interesting there. Narumi has made sure to close all the important tabs.

Damn.

"I knew your mother," Narumi starts, "and your father too, for that matter."

My eyebrows dart up to my hairline. "You knew my parents?" I ask incredulously.

"Yes," he murmurs. "I did. Yuka and Izumi. One of the two people I admire the most in the world. They were like my mentors, always looking out for me. I still remember that day..." He trails off. I know what he's referring to: the day both of them were murdered.

I bite my lips. It's queer hearing a stranger talk about my parents when I have never met them myself. "Did you go to school together?"

He smiles. "Yes. Well at least your mother and I did. You look a lot like her," he informs me and I can see that his eyes have become a bit weary.

"I do?" I ask, an edge of eagerness creeping into my voice. Normally, I wouldn't believe anything any stranger told me-my Uncle taught me well. However my Uncle never told me anything about my parents, just their names. I remember asking him why my name was 'Mikan Sakura' and not 'Mikan Yukihara'. He had brushed it off, saying that my mother wanted me to have her maiden name, which I guess was Sakura. But for some reason, it makes me wonder if that really was her name.

"Yes," Narumi answers. "You do. When you walked into the room, I'd thought that it was your mother." He runs a hand through his golden tresses. "But of course that was silly on my part, I should know better than that."

I offer him a small smile. I honestly couldn't think of anything else to say- or do, for that matter. What was I supposed to say to something like that? I had never known my mother, so saying that I looked like her could be true or not true. I'm not sure.

"Look at me," Narumi says sheepishly as he continues caressing his hair, "blabbering on about things like that!"

"You said you were triple checking my results before?" I ask, trying to steer the subject away from my dead parents.

That sobers him up. "Yes. I was."

"Well it must be really hard," I say. He sends me a confused look. "To triple check all the results, that takes loads of time, I bet." I continue.

He pauses for a moment. "No." Narumi murmurs quietly. "It doesn't."

I raise an eyebrow. "It doesn't? The machines are that quick, eh?" I ask, grinning slightly. I knew all those rumours about The Council's high tech machines were true! Misaki is going to get _so_ owned! She'd scoffed at me when I had told her that. Tsubasa had agreed with me whole heartedly, said that the machines did everything. Misaki however had another theory- she claimed that if the machines actually did all the work, the normal Alices would lose their jobs and then an uprising would begin. President Kouniji wouldn't want that– In fact no one in the Alice City would want that. It would mean total chaos in the Districts which could lead to a possible rebellion.

But however practical Misaki's theory seems, I'm sure I've hit the bull's eye.

"No," Narumi replies shaking his head. "The machines do analyze the results but that only takes a couple of minutes. So we just check it once. Normally the computer is never wrong…"

I let those words sink in. _Normally the computer is never wrong…_

"Does that mean there's something wrong with me?" I ask, an edge of hysteria creeping into my voice. "Am I only a child Alice? Oh my gosh!" I gasp. "That's it! I'm a Child only type Alice! I'm going to be Alice-less now!"

The corner of Narumi's lips twitch as he sees me lose my cool. "No," He says slowly. "It's just the opposite."

That causes me to stop mid-rant. Does he honestly mean what I think he means? No. That can't be possible. It has to be a joke.

"I don't know what you are saying." I tell him. It's a lie of course but I don't think he's figured it out.

"Looks aren't the only things you've inherited from your mother."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I snap at him. He has no right to meddle with me.

He shakes his head and then a smile of pity crosses his features. "You have the Stealing Alice _and _the Nullification Alice."

It takes me a while to register what he has just said. Then it all comes crashing down to me. I'm a Multi-Alice user. Green was right after all, it wasn't as if she was just spouting out nonsense on her death bed… But this doesn't make any sense. No bloody sense at all.

All these years I had honestly believed that I was just like any other normal Alice user. I mean I didn't do anything that could make me stand out! Uncle Kazu had warned me that if I'm seen as a threat or whatever to The Council, they'd wipe not only me but also the whole of District 4 out. That nearly happened to District 5. A boy had voiced out his thoughts in front of the whole District. Well I'm sure I'd never do something as stupid as that. I mean come on, how can anyone be stupid enough to say things like that in public? Not to mention in front of the Mayor and everyone. It was a surprise the whole District didn't get wiped out –well I guess that is just a hyperbole. They can't possibly do that to the whole District. But then again, President Kuoniji did start the Games. So maybe blowing out an entire District isn't that extreme for him. He did it once so who knows? He could definitely do it again.

"You're kidding," I manage to choke out. "Right?"

Narumi doesn't say anything. He leans forward and types on the keyboard. I watch as his hands move swiftly over the keys, typing very quickly.

"You can't tell anyone," Narumi tells me as he fixes his gaze on me. "Promise me Mikan. You can't tell a single soul."

I nod stiffly.

Of course I won't tell anyone. Does he think I'm a fool?

There used to be 6 Districts in the beginning. District 6 was full of the people with Multi-Alices, so anyone who had more than one Alice was placed in that District. But being Multi-Alice users made District 6 even more powerful than District 5. On the mark of the 11th year of Alicestansia's formation, District 6 started to rebel against the President Kuoniji's policies and against the Games mostly. This of course angered President Kuoniji. He tried to suppress the rebellion a couple of times but the people of District 6 resisted. That was when he realized what a threat they were. District 6, I mean. So he did the most obvious thing- he destroyed the entire District. I don't know the exact details of it but from what I've heard, they say not even a cockroach survived the bombing in District 6.

Ever since then, if anyone is found to be a Multi Alice User, they're murdered. It doesn't matter if they're only 4 years old or if they're 85–they'll be killed. There's no mercy for having more than one Alice. Most of the Multi-Alice users die after the age of 16, right after the Aptitude Test. Some say the Council Members plunge knives into your body till you die of blood loss. Others say they throw you into the Alice prison. The rest say that they starve you to death. I don't know which one is worse –starving to death, dying because of blood loss or dying because of insanity? I don't ever want to find out.

"Are you going to kill me?" I ask Narumi.

His eyes widen and he looks shocked. "Kill you? Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm a Multi-Alice user," I tell him.

"Don't say that out loud," he says rather harshly.

"If you're not going to kill me, then who is?"

"You're not going to die, Mikan," he says softly. "I won't let that happen."

"But my results-"

"Have been taken care of," he interrupts me.

"How?"

Narumi smiles grimly. "Let's just say I'm good with computers despite the fact that I'm from District 3."

That isn't good enough. "But-"

"Don't worry, Mikan. I've got it all sorted out." He interrupts me once again.

I'm tempted to scowl. This man just never lets me finish my sentences! "Got what sorted out?" I ask him. I don't know what he means by that.

"The Stealing Alice," he starts, "is a very rare Alice, and so is the Nullification for that matter."

I nod slowly. So I have two very rare Alices. "So?"

Narumi lets out a frustrated sigh. "So? Don't you see where this is going Mikan? I can save your life."

I cough slightly. Is he serious? How can someone like him possible save me? All he can do is make people fall in love with him. I don't see how that's useful in my case. Or rather I think I do…

"Are you going to make President Kuoniji fall madly in love with you?"

"What?" he splutters, clearly taken aback by my question. "Why in the world would I do that?"

I shrug. "What else can you do?"

He decides to ignore that. "Don't you get it? You have a very rare Alice."

"Yes," I say rather dryly. "I believe you've said that already."

He shakes his head. "You have two rare Alices which means hardly anyone has ever heard about them, correct?"

I nod my head. "Okay."

"So as very few people know about your Alice, since it's so uncommon, it wouldn't be too strange if you changed Districts."

"Wait..." I backtrack, "What did you just say?"

"District transfer," He says slowly. "You'll have to change your District."

My eyes widen. "Change my District?" I gape. To think I had been joking about that all day.

"Yes."

I gulp. "To which District?"

He eyes me rather solemnly. "District 5."

**~(*)~**

"So you just want me to pretend I don't have the Stealing Alice?"

Narumi nods. "That's right. I've already made changes with your results so if any of the Coucil Members ever decide to fiddle with your Profile, all they'll see is that you've got the Nullification Alice."

"But won't it be strange for someone with the Nullification Alice to be put in District 5? Surely my Alice isn't dangerous," I counter.

"No. It won't be strange." He fishes something out of his pocket -an ID card I presume- and places it on the wall. "Nullification means that none of the other Alices work against you. You'd be the perfect person to start a rebellion. And that," he says, "Is the reason why you should be in District 5."

"Not because of my Stealing Alice I bet," I mutter.

The corner of Narumi's lips twitch. "You should watch your tongue."

I merely roll my eyes. I notice that the walls are sliding open.

Very smart.

Narumi indicates to the hallway in front of me. "Come on now, you want to bid farewell to your Uncle, don't you?"

I finger the pendant hanging around my neck. It sure gave me a lot of luck all right. But I don't throw it away.

It's the only thing I've got to remind me of home.

* * *

><p>If you have any questions, feel free to ask me :)<p>

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><p><em>Carolle Royale<em>


	4. Goodbyes

**Disclaimer : Nope. Nil. Nada.**

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><p><strong>A N:** Thanks so much for all the reviews and all the favourites and alerts, though I'd be escatic if all of you reviewed :) Here's the next chapter!

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><p><strong>The Alice Games<br>Chapter 4 :** _Goodbyes_

**~(*)~**

When I was five I had asked Uncle Kazu if I could change my District. I told him how bored I was of seeing the same people every single day and hearing the Mayor deliver the same speech every Sunday. He had laughed at me and told me that I could change my District once I hit 16. Then I had thought he was joking. But now I know the truth.

He _knew._

He knew that I have the Stealing Alice! He had known for all these years and he hadn't even said a single word to me. So when I see him lounging about on a sofa in the waiting room, I immediately feel rage course through my veins. He could have at least warned me! I would've been prepared for what was going to happen! He just let me believe that I had only the Nullification Alice.

"Mikan," Uncle gets up from the sofa and walks towards me and engulfs me into a hug. "I'm so glad to see you."

I stiffen in his embrace. Uncle notices this.

"You could've told me, at least," I hiss breaking away.

Uncle has a pained look on his face. "Mikan," he says pleadingly. "Please try to understand. I did this for you."

I nearly scoff at that. Did this for me? Why, if it truly were for me he could've prepared me!

I hear Narumi clear his throat. This causes Uncle to look past my shoulder and spot Narumi. "Anju, is that you?"

Narumi grins. "Kazumi! Hey there! Long-time no see, huh?"

Initially I'm quite shocked at that. How does this Narumi guy know my Uncle? Then I remember that Narumi knew my dad. So it makes sense if he knows my Uncle too. My dad and my Uncle were brothers after all.

Uncle smiles a bit. "Yes it has been ages. You work here?"

Narumi nods. "I'm Mikan's Test Analyzer."

I see Uncle Kazu stiffen ever so slightly. "She's going, isn't she?" he says quietly.

"Yes she is," Narumi says, looking directly at Uncle. "She's here to say goodbye."

"Which District?" Uncle asks.

"Five," I tell him.

He squeezes his eyes shut for a few seconds and then opens them again. "Can I talk with Mikan alone for a few seconds?" I know it's meant to sound like a request but it sounds more like a demand.

Narumi hesitates but then nods and heads towards the vending machine without another word.

"I know you're probably very angry with me," Uncle begins, once Narumi is out of ear-shot. "But this was the best way. Trust me."

I refuse to look at him. I stare stubbornly at the floor instead.

I hear Uncle sigh. "Are you ever going to forgive me?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"My mood."

I hear Uncle chuckle. "You and your moods," he says as he pats my head. "Those will get you in trouble in 5."

"Will I ever see you again?" I ask, finally looking up from the floor.

"I can't say," Uncle tells me truthfully and then he embraces me once more. This time I hug him back. "You're the best niece anyone could ever have," he murmurs.

He then pulls back. "Remember, even in the darkest of times, there's light. It's only a matter of switching it on."

I grin slightly. That's Uncle's favourite quote. He uses it all the time, says it's suitable for almost anything. "I'll remember."

"We have to go now Mikan," Narumi says, coming back from the vending machine. He has a packet of crisps in one hand and a can of soda in the other. "The car is waiting."

"I guess that's my cue to go," I say to Uncle.

Uncle squeezes my hands. "Bye Mikan," he whispers.

I take one last look at Uncle Kazu before I walk out of the doors with Narumi.

It doesn't matter if I'm in District 5. I'll meet Uncle again someday.

Even if it kills me.

**~(*)~**

"Narumi! It's been so long!" A woman with pin straight black hair gushes as she sees us walk towards the gates. We're at District 4's train station now; they are the only things which connect one District to another. The Council is afraid that if there are actual roads interlinking the Districts, we will all gather together and rebel.

"Miyaki," Narumi says as he kisses her hand. "It's so nice to see you."

The woman- Miyaki - smiles. "So how's everything been going?"

"Same old, same old," Narumi replies jokingly.

I notice that the station is devoid of any people. There's a man standing a few feet away but other than that, the station's empty. They don't want anyone to know about District transfers, I can tell. Normally at this time at least a few dozen Alices can be seen at the Station. Most of these people work as traders and retailers. The goods from the other Districts are imported and our goods are exported. It's almost as if we all live in different countries, not one.

After talking with Narumi for another minute or two, the woman's gaze flickers towards me. "Ah," she says. "So this is the girl?"

Narumi nods. "This is Mikan Sakura."

"Hi," I say rather lamely. I decide to smile a bit.

The woman does not return the gesture. Instead she whispers something into Narumi's ear.

"Never judge a book by its cover," I hear Narumi murmur back.

Miyaki lets out a frustrated sigh. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

I look at them skeptically. It's so bizarre how they think that I can't hear a single word of what they're saying. "I can hear both of you, you know," I decide to say.

This causes Miyaki to stop. "Indeed. Eavesdroppers are dangerous," She sends Narumi a dubious look. "Don't blame me if she doesn't last for more than a week."

Narumi shakes his head and mutters something once again. Miyaki narrows her eyes slightly and purses her lips. "Very well then. Let's get going, now shall we?"

"Wait," I say a frown forming on my face. "Who are you?"

Miyaki starts laughing, which catches me by surprise. I hadn't thought she was capable of laughing. "Who am I? Never heard such a ridiculous question in my life before!" She clutches her stomach, still laughing.

"She has the Bi-Polar Alice." Narumi informs me as I watch Miyaki doubling into fits of laughter. "She's one of the mentors for the District 5 Tributes."

I blink. She was a Victor? I wrack my brain, trying to remember which year she had won the Games. Bi-Polar Alice...seems vaguely familiar..."Is she the Victor of the 6th Alice Games?"

"Bingo," is what Narumi says.

"Enough with the dawdling!" Miyaki nearly shouts.

I raise an eyebrow. I guess she's had enough with her chortling. That's when I realize that I won't be seeing Narumi anymore. Even though I've just met him, it's strange how I'll never see him again. Unless I somehow manage to go back in time or something- which is highly doubtful.

Goodbyes sure do suck.

**~(*)~**

Miyaki, I decide, is even worse than Green.

At least Green had a stable personality. She didn't change from one thing to another constantly. Miyaki on the other hand is like yin and yang; two completely opposite people.

"What are those?" I ask, nodding to the numerous numbers of earrings and bracelets she's donning. It's strange how I hadn't noticed them before. I'm sure something as conspicuous as multiple-piercings would catch my eye.

Miyaki tears her gaze away from the window. "Oh these?" she asks. "They're just the Alice Control devices that I have to wear."

That's when I realize that she also has a piercing on her tongue. "And it has to be on your tongue as well?"

Miyaki laughs as she shakes her head. "No, that's only me. That limits my powers and my Alice only affects me."

"Only affects you? Meaning there was a time when it affected other people?" The mere idea causes horror to overtake me. If she wants to, she can make me Bi-Polar! In fact, she can do that to anyone! No wonder she's in District 5. Makes perfect sense.

"Why yes!" she exclaims. "How else do you think I won the Games?"

I shrug. "With sheer dumb luck maybe?"

That causes her to scoff. "You can't win the Games with just luck. You'd get pulverized in a second if you rely solely on that."

For once, I guess I do believe her. You need skill and expertise to win the Games. It doesn't matter if you're small or big and buff. President Kuoniji on the other hand claims that almost anyone can win the Games. That is, if the odds are _ever _in their favour.

But in reality however, just having the odds in your favour won't prove to be much. If you don't have proper training and if you're faint-hearted – you'll die within a millisecond. I've seen so many people in that scenario (Yes, the Games are telecast live).

"You were a District Transfer too." I observe.

She doesn't beat an eyelash. "You're a smart one, aren't you?" She says while inspecting her nails. She looks up. "You're in for a hell of a ride."

**~(*)~**

"-and this is the Alice Academy. It's different from the rest of the Academies in Alicestansia because the students are required to live within the Academy's premises. They are only allowed to meet their family twice a year. Over there are the-" Miyaki drones on as we finally reach the gates of the Alice Academy: Dangerous Ability Division.

She's right, this Alice Academy is different. The whole architecture and structure looks so…sinister. As if any second now something's going to blast out and harm me.

The train ride to District 5 took a total of 5 hours. I fell asleep at one point and was awoken by (very rudely, I'll say) Miyaki who continuously poked my shoulder. When she found out that I wouldn't budge I guess she thought the best thing to do would be to scream in my ear. So that's what she did. I immediately woke up from my slumber and saw her laughing. I would've yelled at her or something, but I restrained myself from doing so.

The District 5 train station was pretty much like District 4's station–it was empty. The only difference was that instead of having 'Welcome to 4' on the board, it had 'This is District 5' instead. I guess they don't like welcoming people here at 5.

There was a car to pick us up and it dropped us to a place called 'The Chopper'. I assumed that the chopper would be a butcher's shop or something by the name so I was quite surprised when it wasn't.

"What is this place?" I asked Miyaki as I eyed the building in front of me. It was surely not a butcher's shop.

"I told you, this is The Chopper."

"But it's not a butcher's shop."

The corner of Miyaki's lips had twitched. "We don't chop any animals here..."

My eyes had widened in horror when the implication of what she was saying sunk in. I had gasped.

She smirked when she sensed my unease. "So if you're ever being naughty…this is the place you'll be sent to."

Miyaki had smirked once more before motioning me over to the pathway. "We will have to walk to the Academy."

The walk had taken us nearly another hour. I don't see why we couldn't have gone in a car. It must be some sort of bizarre District 5 rule, I reckon.

"Sakura!" Miyaki bites out. "Are you listening?"

I snap back to the present. "Yes, I am."

She narrows her eyes on me and then continues. "This will be your new home from now on. You'll go to classes, eat and sleep here. Also I must warn you, no form of disobedience will be tolerated. The teachers are all very strict and unlike District 4, they are allowed to inflict corporeal punishment."

I gulp. "Corporeal punishment?"

She grins at me and I can see that horrible piercing in her tongue. "Yes. I got the occasional beating once in a while for not turning up to class."

"Bu-but they can't do that!" I protest.

Miyaki raises an eyebrow. "Who says we can't? We've got our own rules and regulations."

I don't say anything, instead pursing my lips.

"Good girl," She observes. "You've already learnt to keep your mouth shut."

I grit my teeth. Hopefully there aren't any more people like her at the Academy. But knowing my luck, there probably will be.

She then walks towards the gates, and like Narumi she fishes out a card. Just as she's about to place the card in the sensor there's a blast.

Literally. Chunks of bricks spring out of the wall and I dodge three which were flying right towards me. Then I swirl my head towards the direction of the sound. Miyaki does the same. I can hear her let out a groan.

My eyes travel to the left- where the explosion came from and I notice that there's a hole in the wall. Not in the middle of it or anything, but the top part of the brick wall of the Academy has been blasted- by fire I assume.

Miyaki shakes her head and puts the card back in her purse. She then saunters over to the explosion, her fists clenched at her sides. At first I wonder what she's doing, the explosion obviously came from inside the Gates but that's when I realize it. There is a person there.

By the looks of it, he's probably my age or older perhaps. He's crouched on the ground as Miyaki walks over to him. When he sees her, he slowly stands up and brushes all the dirt off his pants.

"What the hell are you thinking, Natsume?" I hear Miyaki shout.

The boy, Natsume, shrugs- a delicate twitch of his broad shoulders. He clearly dismisses her question and says. "And they all claim it's so hard to escape."

His eyes flash towards mine and immediately I feel a chill creep down my spine.

Things would _never_ be the same.

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><p>Most of you guessed it right. Mikan has finally met Natsume :) (Though it's the same way in the manga) But no, Natsume will not look at her panties and threaten to burn her hair in the next chapter while Mikan's in the Principal's room. (Or maybe he will? haha, wait for the next chapter ;)And Ruka will not come flying to Natsume's rescue. Trust me, that's not even possible for this story :P<p>

P.S Thanks for all the reviews _Sai_ :) I would've Pmed you, but you don't have an account :/ Anyways good guess for the last chapter! They did meet in this one, though only at the end. Haha the Alice Aptitude Test doesn't necessarily have to be scary for everyone. And yeah, I guess I have sort of made Mikan way cooler than what she was in the manga (or in the beginning at least).

Just curious though, but could anyone tell that English is not my native language? I hope it doesn't show in my writing :)

Anyways this Author's note is far too long haha. So I guess I'll go back to the world of homework and assignments then :/

So how about a review, yeah? :)

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><p><em>Carolle Royale<em>


	5. District Dauntless

**Disclaimer : No, hun. I do not own either of these incredible works. Only this story is mine :)**

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><p><strong>AN : **Sorry for the late update!

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><p><strong>The Alice Games<br>Chapter 5 :** _District Dauntless_

**~(*)~**

"Let go of me, Miyu," Natsume hisses as he narrows his eyes at Miyaki. I stand there rooted to the spot like a fool, unsure as to what to do.

Miyaki smiles grimly. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

He merely rolls his eyes. "Let go of me," he says once more, his voice remarkably low.

After a few seconds, she releases her grasp on his shoulder. He takes a few steps back and then shoves his hand into his pockets. He has a scowl on his face as he says, "Persona said that you had to go for some sort of training workshop." His eyes flicker briefly towards me and then he turns back to Miyaki. "But clearly his perception of training involves walking back to the Academy with some little girl."

That makes me bristle. Little girl? Is he retarded? "I'm sixteen for your information." I tell him quite indignantly. I am _not_ a little girl!

He looks in my direction, his expression one of utter boredom. "Well you look like you're ten."

I fight back the urge to stick my tongue out. He's the one acting like a ten year old, not me. "I do not look like a ten year old!"

He scrunches up his nose. "And a loud one that too."

I gape at him. I've known the guy for five minutes and he has already managed to insult me twice! How I feel like punching him…

Miyaki shakes her head. "Just stop Natsume. Leave the girl alone."

This is the first time she has said anything remotely civil to me, so I owe her that.

"Whatever," he says dismissively before turning around and walking back to the Academy like he hadn't done anything wrong. Like he hadn't just tried breaking out. Like he hadn't blown a hole in the wall.

Clearly Miyaki does not appreciate his laid back attitude. "Oi, Natsume!" Miyaki calls out. I'm pretty sure he can hear her, but he doesn't stop. He continues on his way with his hands shoved deeply inside his pockets.

Miyaki lets out an impatient sigh before yelling once again. "Persona will want to talk to you! This stunt you've pulled won't go unnoticed!"

I can see Natsume sticking up his middle finger. He doesn't stop walking though. That causes me to laugh despite the fact that the bloke had insulted me a few minutes ago. It really does look so absurd seeing a person walking with his middle finger stuck above his head. It's quite a laugh, really.

"What's with him?" I ask Miyaki.

She shrugs. "Natsume Hyuuga is a special case." She then smiles a creepy, nerve wracking smile. "Welcome to District 5's Alice Academy."

**~(*)~**

I eye myself in the mirror critically. The uniform is red! It looks absolutely ridiculous! Blue stripes looked much _much _better. This hurts my eyes. They could've chosen a dull red or something, but no. It just _has _to be crimson red. It looks as if I'm out to kill someone.

I guess this sort of shows that this District is certainly 'Dangerous.' I huff as I pull the rubber band out of my hair. I grab the comb lying on the table and yank it through my tangled tresses. I grimace as I notice that the comb is red too. I quickly tie my hair into a pony tail and then splash some water over my face. The ice cold water feels good on my skin. Yesterday was so tiring. I can't believe it's been a whole day since the Aptitude Test. I hardly got any sleep last night, so I hope the ice cold water does the trick and stops me from feeling so droopy.

"Are you ready, dear?"

I nearly drop the bar of soap in my hand when I hear that voice. I can see her reflection in the mirror, she's smiling down at me.

"Nearly," I say. I rinse my hands, splash water on my face one more time then grab the towel to dab my face dry.

"My, don't you think that colour suits you? It matches your eyes."

I shoot her a look. "My eyes happen to be brown, not red." I tell her.

Miyaki chuckles- oh lord, I'd rather she scowls at me. I'm getting tired of her laugh. "Brown, red, same thing!"

I roll my eyes. That doesn't go unnoticed by her. "Quit rolling your eyes! We're getting late. The Prinicpal wants to meet you right now," she snaps and with that she turns on her heels and practically stomps out of the bathroom.

I sigh quietly as I follow her. She's waiting for me near the door.

"Whose room is this?" I ask.

She sighs impatiently. "I told you last night. It's just one of our spares."

_Right, like I'd remember anything when I was nearly asleep._

The walk down the corridor to the Principal's office is a quiet one. I've got nothing to say and neither does she for that matter. I allow myself to think. I hadn't been allowed to say bye to Misaki or Tsubasa, not even Anna. I wonder what they'll think happened to me. Will Uncle tell them that I transferred Districts? Or will he claim that I died right after the Test? I bet the Mayor will announce that I've been taken as a prisoner by the Alice City knowing that the people of 4 can't do anything. After all, we're known to be the most obedient Alices in the country. Well, who knows? I'll never find out.

It must be the total opposite here, but the Chopper...My thoughts wander to that horrid place and I don't notice when I collide with Miyaki's back. I hadn't realized that she'd stopped walking.

"You're ruining my dress."

"Sorry," I mutter as I take a step back. We're standing right in front of a huge oak door. Miyaki raises her hand and then knocks on the door.

I hear a muffled, "Come in."

Miyaki grabs the handle and twists the door open. I take in a deep breath before heading inside.

"Ah, Miyaki! It's so good to have you back!"

Miyaki smiles. "I haven't been gone that long, Headmaster."

I'm taken aback when I notice the man sitting at the table. He doesn't look like someone who can run this Academy. If anything he looks as if he just graduated! He has light brown hair and I notice that his clothes (which consist of trousers and a long sleeved shirt) are devoid of any wrinkles. He smiles at her. "Ah," he says as he notices me standing behind Miyaki. "That's the girl. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," I say, smiling a bit. Surprisingly he seems normal…almost. I was expecting him to be bald and to look like a snail. He clearly exceeded my expectations.

"How do you like it here?" He asks me, the smile still present on his face. "Come take a seat." He indicates to the chair in front of him.

I walk slowly over to the chair and hesitate before sitting. He notices it. "Just sit, Mikan," he insists. I cringe slightly when he says my name. It's stupid of me, I know, but I hadn't thought he'd know my name.

"Good girl," He says, nodding his head in appreciation as I finally sit down on the seat. Miyaki doesn't sit, she stands behind me instead. I wonder if she's planning to stab me. Knowing her, that's probably what she's itching to do.

"So, how do you like your new home?" He repeats once again.

I don't hesitate this time. "It's wonderful." I tell him, lying my arse off. He laughs a bit and then leans forward to retrieve a pen from a pencil holder placed on his desk. I watch as he writes something down on a piece paper and then places it inside a folder.

"That's a first," Miyaki scoffs.

He lifts his head from the paper and then makes a show of rolling his eyes. "Miyaki's just bitter. She never received such a warm welcome when she came here."

"Oh," Is what I manage to say.

That seems to amuse him. "Oh? Is that all you've got to say?"

My eyes widen slightly as I notice the colour of his. They're purple. Purple eyes. And they're boring straight into mine. I feel uneasy under his gaze but I answer nonetheless. "Yes."

That seems to satisfy him for some unknown reason and he jots something down on the paper once more before chuckling. "Well you seem to be a bit flustered. Has Miyaki told you everything about the Academy?"

"Headmaster," Miyaki starts as she frowns. "You're not wearing-"

"Be quiet," He drawls out easily. An annoyed expression flits across her face but she stops talking anyway. I can tell that it pains her to listen to him -but she does. I can't tell if it's out of respect or out of fear. Maybe both.

He gives her a criticising look. "What in the world were you doing during the train ride? You haven't informed her about anything!"

Miyaki mutters something under her breath. He raises a mocking eyebrow at her. "What did you say, dear?"

Miyaki pales. "Headmaster yo-"

"Miyaki, don't be shy. Please tell me what's on your mind," he drawls out easily, twirling the pencil around with his finger.

She gulps nervously. "What I was saying w-was th-that-"

"We don't have all day. Hurry up and talk," he says rather harshly this time. I notice a bracelet laying on his desk. It seems rather absurd that a man like him owns a bracelet. It's green in colour and has black stripes. I can see a little charm dangling from one side. It certainly doesn't look _that_ masculine.

She swallows rather thickly before starting once again. "What I meant to say before was this: I think you should tell her all about the rules and regulations of the Academy since you're the Principal."

"Is that so?" He questions slyly. "I believe you phrased it in another way."

She groans. "Since you're the almighty Principal, it's your duty to tell her all the bullshit about the Academy. My duty was to bring her here in one piece, which I have fulfilled."

I'm shocked when I hear her saying this to his face. Sure, she seems like a person to blab out her guts, but this is _so_ stupid of her! I look at the Principal to gauge his expression. I expect him to be angry or at the very least, offended. But he is neither. He looks rather entertained.

"Since your tongue seems to be wild, I think it's about time that you get a few more piercings, don't you think?"

Her eyes widen with shock. "Headmaster what do you mean?"

He chuckles softly, his purple eyes gleaming with amusement. "Five piercings. Come on now, Miyaki you can do it."

She shakes her head. "This is a mistake, I can't-"

"Next room_. Now."_

She looks like she's about to cry. I feel a huge wave of pity for her but then it disappears with a flash. She's the one who so foolishly said that to him! She clenches her fists and then starts making her way to the 'next room'- wherever that is. As she's about to open the door to head out of the room, he interrupts her.

"And I want you to do it yourself. No anesthesia."

Her back stiffens at this. "Whatever you say, _Headmaster_."

**~(*)~**

"Tea or coffee?"

"Coffee please."

The Principal nods before he reaches into his pocket and digs out a card. What is up with these cards? They seem to be everywhere...

He places the card on his desk. I wait for a couple of seconds, expecting a cup of coffee to randomly sprout of the oak table but instead of that, the area around the card starts glowing.

"Two cups of coffee, please."

I stare at him dumbfounded. Is it my imagination, or is he talking to the table?

"Anything else, Headmaster?" The table says back to him. My jaw drops. What is up with this place?

He glances at me. "Would you prefer biscuits or crackers?"

"I...um," I stammer, unsure what to say. I've never seen talking tables before.

"I would like those fudge biscuits which I ordered yesterday."

"Yes sir. We'll be there within a few minutes," the table informs him.

He nods once more before removing the card from the table. He notices me staring.

"That's one of the latest inventions from District 2. It's called the 'Table waiter.' It's actually connected to the kitchens down in the culinary block," he explains.

"That makes sense." Sort of.

He folds his arms on the table. "Miyaki didn't tell you about the ranking system, did she?"

"The what?" I manage to ask. My thoughts are still on the table incident. I never knew the Districts ever bothered to help each other...

He clicks his tongue. "That girl really needs to be put in her place."

I wince slightly. I think she's already been 'put in her place'. Piercing your own tongue must be hard. But then again, maybe she has got the brains not to pierce them all five times. Who knows.

"Anyways, you must know that we aren't anything like 4. We don't tolerate any forms of weakness nor do we appreciate stupidity."

I nod. Great, so now even he's going to give me a pep talk.

"And since you're a District Transferee, things might be even more difficult for you here than they are for the Dangerous Ability born."

That immediately grabs my attention. "What?"

"People here might see you as a threat," he says patiently. "District transfers are very rare and for a person to transfer to the Dangerous Ability District...well you must be something."

"But what can I possibly do to them?" I blurt out. Because honestly, they have no reason to see me as a threat!

He shrugs. "Well if you're ranked in the top 5, your chances of being selected for the Games increase and people wouldn't want that."

I'm completely lost now. "Shouldn't that be the opposite?"

He laughs mirthlessly. "You're forgetting where you are."

I gulp. "The Career District…"

He grins. "And how many times have we won the Games?"

"Nine times out of fourteen," I've been told that- let's see, just a few billion times. Every year I hear people complaining how unfair the Games are for the rest of the Alices as District 5 _always_ has an advantage. It's not only because they possess dangerous and life threatening Alices, it's also because they are actually trained for the Games. I don't know how vigorous the training is, but I know it's intense. My breath hitches slightly, what if they make me go for the training? I gulp nervously. I'm pretty sure they will. It's only a matter of when and how.

"It's good to know that they teach History properly at 4," he says while he glances at his watch.

"Where ar-" he starts but he's cut off by knocking on the door.

He smiles briefly. "It must be the coffee," he says to himself. "Come in!"

The door opens and I'm surprised to see that boy from yesterday- Natsume. He's got a scowl plastered on his face (the usual). There's another man standing behind him with a tray in his hands. "Headmaster," The man says while he adjusts the plates on the tray. "I found this boy lurking in the kitchens."

"I was hungry, you dimwit," Natsume growls. "I didn't get any dinner yesterday."

The Principal doesn't even bat an eyelash. "And whose fault was that? It certainly wasn't me who disregarded the rules."

Natsume rolls his eyes. "Look I haven't done anything now. Can I just go?"

"Headmaster, your coffee is-"

"Just put it on the table," The Principal says dismissively.

The man walks forward to place the tray on the table. He bows his head down and then walks out of the room. The Principal opens his mouth to say something but pauses.

He flashes the magic card out of his pocket and groans. "Not now," he mutters. He then looks up. "I have to go for some urgent business right now. Both of you, just stay in this room."

"I have classes," Natsume remarks. "And you can't make me wait here with that kid."

I grit my teeth. 'That kid'? Is he serious?

The Principal grins. "I can't now, can I?" He raises his wrist. "It's bare."

Natsume hisses. "You bastard! You can't do this!"

"Watch me," He winks and then says. "I don't want you to set a single foot out of this room, Natsume. Is that clear?"

Natsume doesn't say anything. The Principal takes it as a yes. "Good." He says. "And you," he turns to me. "Please don't leave this room, either. You'll never know what you'll find lurking around in this Academy..."

And with that he turns on his heels and heads out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving the both of us trapped inside.

I let out a frustrated groan.

This was going to turn out well.

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><p>Gah, I'm soo sorry for the late chapter! School's been so meh...Anyways last week my teacher announced that we were going to have an Aptitude Test conducted at school. I know! The second she said that I thought about this story (and how I really needed to update soon.) The Aptitude Test I took was such a bore compared to Mikan's. Seriously it was <em>so<em> stupid. We had to draw 70 squares in like 2 minutes or something. I really don't see how that's going to help determine my career in the future -.-

Okay, now back to the story. I know, I haven't mentioned the Principal's name here. Any guesses on who it is? :) I've put loads of hints so guessing shouldn't be that difficult. And woahh, I can't believe I've got 50 reviews already! Thanks guys! :)

Please review! :D

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><p><em>Carolle Royale<em>

P.S I might not be able to update that frequently for a few months because I've got really important exams coming up. These exams are like the O.W.L.S from Harry Potter, so they are pretty important and I have to get like super marks. But don't worry, I'll still update :)

And Happy Holidays everyone!


	6. Devil's Deal

**Disclaimer : No, just no.**

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><p><strong>AN :** Only a couple of people guessed who the Principal is. I revealed it in this chapter. Enjoy reading! :)

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><p><strong>The Alice Games<br>Chapter 6: **_Deal with the Devil_

**~(*)~**

"Stop moaning. You sound like a mutated gorilla," Natsume remarks the second the door closes.

I glare at him. "Gorillas don't moan."

"Yes they do," He says as he plops down onto a_red_sofa. (Ugh, red again!) I furrow my eyebrows. How had I not noticed that before? I quickly crane my neck around the place and notice that the talking table and the chairs aren't the only things in this room. In fact, this can't even be called a room. It's far too large to be called_just_a room. At least six of my bedrooms back home could fit in here. No joke.

Other than the red sofa, there's a white one, a blue one and even a green one. I really don't see why the Principal has so many different colours of sofas. I reckon he collects them –a very interesting hobby if I may say so. There's also a plasma TV on one of the walls and something which surprisingly looks like an oven, only much much bigger.

"He roasts bodies in there."

"Err-what?" I ask as I jerk my head towards where Natsume is sitting. The jerk is admiring his nails. I resist the urge to laugh. Yesterday he was the guy who blasted the wall and today he's the guy who snuck into the kitchens and admired his nails. What a combination.

"You were looking at the Roaster, weren't you?" He asks not bothering to lift his head up.

"The Roaster?"

He looks up now and I can see a smirk forming on his lips. "Yes. The Roaster. He likes to roast bodies in there." He repeats again.

"Well you mean like chickens right?"

He rolls his eyes. "Why in the world would he roast chickens in here when he's got a bunch of people to do that for him downstairs?"

"He likes to roast them himself, maybe?" I offer.

He snorts. "That's like the Chopper's younger sister."

My eyes widen. No…he really can't mean that. What is wrong with these people? First the Chopper, now the Roaster? They seriously need to learn how to be more creative in bestowing names.

But that's not what irks me. What irks me is how they can do this and get away. Aren't people from the same District supposed to take care of each other? How can they do this to their own District members? This has got to be even worse than what they do in the Alice City! "Have you…have you ever been in it?" I ask, nodding towards the massive oven- or the Roaster as they like to call it.

"Oh yeah, loads of times," He drawls lazily as he props his feet up on a small table in front of the sofa. "Maybe you'll be lucky enough to earn a visit," he says with a sly grin plastered on his face.

I throw a scowl in his direction before turning my gaze back to the Roaster. It does look big enough for an adult to fit in, so teenagers wouldn't be that hard.

"Oi, get me a cookie," He randomly demands, while he places his hands behind his head–an impression of ease.

"Go get it yourself," I mutter, quite annoyed. Who does he think I am? His maid?

He clucks his tongue. "You're the one standing."

"So?"

"You're closer to the table."

"I'm not going to get it for you."

"Don't make me burn you."

I raise an eyebrow. "Burn me?"

"If you hadn't noticed yesterday," he remarks, "I have the Fire Alice. So with a snap of my finger, you can say good-bye to your hair."

If I hadn't known what my Alice was, I would definitely have been scared. Natsume looked intimidating when he said that. It wasn't as if he was glaring at me or anything, his face was mostly expression-less. It was his eyes.

His eyes gleamed with something indescribable. I couldn't tell if it was fury, amusement, or indifference. It was probably all three.

I shiver slightly. "Go on then," I prod. "Burn me."

"You asked for it," he says softly. I widen my eyes as a ball of fire appears on his left palm. For some unknown reason, I take a step back.

He notices that and smirks slightly. "It doesn't matter if you back away, it'll still hit you."

I decide to play along with him a little. He still doesn't know what my Alice is...so I might as well as have some fun. "Not if I walk out of this room."

He sneers. "You can't do that. Didn't you hear what that bastard said?"

I shrug._I don't want you to set a single foot out of this room, Natsume._"I never thought you were the type to listen to adults," I tell him.

Instead of cussing at me, he merely gets up from the couch and walks over to the door. He turns the handle and places one foot out of the room. He lifts his other foot up, but for some strange reason, he can't place it out of the room. I hear him sigh quietly. He then cranes his neck around, to look at me.

"See?" He asks with one of his feet still placed on the other side of the door. "I can't walk out of this room."

I frown slightly. "What, is there some sort of barrier?"

He shakes his head. "No there isn't. It's all because of his stupid fuckin' Alice." He hisses with disdain. "That son of a bitch, he should be thrown in the chopper for disregarding the rules!"

"His Alice?"

He throws me a disgusted look. "Haven't you figured what Alice he has?" He shakes his head and then mutters something under his breath. "You are_so_slow."

I really don't know why I did it. I guess it was the nerves of being at a new place mixed with a bit of homesickness. I grab the nearest item on the table, which happens to be a paper weight, and chuck it straight at him.

Sadly, he dodges it and it falls on the ground with a big 'thud.' Oh, how I wish that the paper weight hit him square in his face. That would've been a dream come true.

"Why did you do that?" He hisses, obviously annoyed.

I shrug. "You're pissing me off with all the 'oh, you're so goddamn slow!' talk."

"Well that's because you are."

This time I grab a book and unlike the paper weight, it hits him.

Right on the nose.

I guess he didn't expect me to throw something again. He jerks back and covers his nose with his hands. I can hear him let out a small groan. I allow myself to giggle. My dream_did_come true.

His eyes narrow dangerously on me. "You really_shouldn't_have done that." He growls.

And immediately a fire ball appears on his palm.

"Say bye to your hair, little girl," he whispers menacingly and then hurls the fire ball towards me.

Automatically my nullification starts working and the fire ceases to burn. Natsume's eyes widen in disbelief. "What the hell?"

I grin triumphantly at him and tilt my head to one side. "Don't you just love my Alice?"

He stiffens. "Nullification," He says the word with disdain.

I laugh. "Simply amazing, isn't it?"

That doesn't stop him from trying to blast me with another fire ball. It meets the same fate as the one before. He tries again. And again.

"Really, it's not going to hit me," I tell him for about the fourth time. "No matter how hard you try, it won't work."

He wipes the sweat trickling down his face with the back of his hand. "Bitch."

I shrug innocently. "I can't help it, I was born this way," I give him a small wink before stepping around him. "Have fun being stuck in this room!"

And before he can say anything, I'm out of the door and in the corridor.

I can't stop smiling when I see the look on his face. It's bloody priceless.

I really do love my Alice.

**~(*)~**

For a school, this place is quite empty. According to my calculations today is a Friday which means there should be classes, plus Natsume had said that he'd miss his. In any normal school, (well my school back home at least) that would mean a bunch of students roaming about the place. But here...I don't know. I haven't seen a single student besides Natsume.

The corridors have an eerie sort of feel to them. I can't imagine anyone laughing here in this place, it seems far too queer and...impossible. I peek inside one of the classrooms and frown.

There are only five seats in the entire room.

What kind of class is this? I quicken my pace and peer inside the classroom next to it. It's almost the same as the one I saw a few seconds prior, except it has six seats instead of five.

I frown. First the lack of students and now the small number of seats? I bite my lips, thinking pensively. How can this even be possible? District 5 should have plenty of students. This District is the richest of all due to the fact that they win the Games almost every year or so. With each win, the District earns quite a handsome amount of money.

"I see you haven't followed my instructions," A voice from behind me murmurs quietly.

I silently curse. Oh god. Why must my day be so rotten? I turn around slowly. "Umm…hello." I offer rather weakly.

His eyes flicker to a spot behind me for a brief second and then back to me. "Didn't I clearly tell you_not_to leave my room?" He says while frowning.

I run a hand through my hair nervously. "Well you did, but I needed some fresh air so I decided to take a small tour of the school," I quickly say.

His frown deepens. "Of course." He mutters. "My Alice won't work on you."

"What Alice do you have?" I ask him.

But instead of giving me a straight answer, he asks me a question instead. "Would you like me to demonstrate?"

I consider for a moment. Since he said that his Alice won't work on me, there's no harm in me watching him use it.

"Sure."

He grins. "Natsume was being bothersome, wasn't he?"

I nod. "That would actually be an understatement."

He chuckles lightly before rummaging through his pocket and bringing out that god forsaken_card_again.

"What is that?"

He gives me a look. "It's a card," He says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. I resist the urge to stick out my tongue. Of course I know it's a card! I'm not that stupid.

"What is it for?" I ask him instead. Maybe I'll get a proper answer this time.

"It can be used for many things," He's engaged in tapping away on that thing. After a few seconds of constant tapping, he brings the card up to his mouth and whispers something into it. Then he slips it back into his pocket.

I raise an eyebrow.

"It can also be used as a phone," He says dismissively with a wave of his hand. "Now, you should know that I don't tolerate rule-breakers." His purple eyes bore straight into mine.

I gulp nervously. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"You didn't listen to my orders."

I shrug innocently. "I'm sorry to say this sir, but I didn't even listen to my Uncle's orders. So you're quite off base if you think I'll listen to yours."

"Well," his voice is frosty and his eyes gleam dangerously. "You will just have to learn, won't you?"

**~(*)~**

"Leave him alone!" I yell out with horror. When he had offered to demonstrate his Alice, I hadn't thought he'd do_this._The man ordered Natsume to cut his own arm with a knife! And to my astonishment, Natsume had listened to him.

That's when I realized that he had the Voice Pheromone Alice. No wonder Miyaki said all those things to him, she didn't have a choice.

"Let go of him!" I shriek as Natsume continues cutting himself with the knife; the blood trickles down his fore-arm, leaving a bright red stain on his white shirt.

The Principal smirks. "I haven't even touched him."

"You've seriously pushed this way too far, Reo." Natsume manages to hiss out. The knife is still on his skin and there's nothing he can do about it.

The Principal –Reo merely grins. "Cut deeper."

Immediately the knife plunges deeper into his skin, making Natsume howl out in pain. I resist the urge to puke. The sight of all that blood is making me nauseous. But I manage push myself in front of Natsume and snatch the knife away from his hand.

Natsume widens his eyes. "You-" he starts but is cut off by Reo.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Mikan?" Reo growls out with a frown plastered on his face.

"You can't do this to him." I clench the knife tightly in my hand. "This is child abuse! And you're the Principal of this Academy!"

Reo rolls his eyes and folds his arms over his chest while leaning back against the wall. "Better here than in the Games," he drawls out lazily. "Plus, Natsume is used to it."

I shake my head. "What kind of person are you? You can't just use your Alice like that on people!"

"I don't need you defending me, little girl," Natsume mutters darkly.

"Oh shut up," I tell him. "You obviously can't fight against_him_."

That causes Reo to snicker. "You think you can fight me?"

"Yes." I say without thinking. "Your Alice can't affect me."

But that doesn't seem to bother him. "How about you meet me tomorrow at my Office and then we'll decide who wins."

I nod my head. "You'll have to promise to never hurt Natsume again."

Natsume groans. "Wait you really shouldn't-"

"Deal," Reo says while he laughs lightly. "I promise not to hurt him."

I stretch out my hand and offer it to him. "Shake on it."

Begrudgingly, he unfolds his arms and shakes my hand. "You better not back out," I say.

"Of course I won't," he says smoothly. "But if I win, there_will_be conditions."

"Okay," I say without a thought.

He glances at Natsume once more. "Your mother would be proud, wouldn't she?"

But I can tell that it's not a compliment. Natsume's eyes fill up with rage. "You filthy son of a bitch. Just wait till I hit 18, I swear to god, I'll kill you."

Reo doesn't seem to be deterred by the fact that Natsume has just threatened to kill him. He seems rather amused instead. "Well let's hope that the odds will_ever_be in your favour, hmm?" And with that he swiftly turns on his heels and starts strutting down the hallway, leaving me alone with Natsume, who's leaning against the wall.

"Your wounds are still bleeding."

I notice I still have the knife in my hand. Grimacing, I drop it down on the ground where it lands with a soft clatter.

Natsume shrugs. "Yeah, I guess," he says as he slides down onto the ground. He props one foot against the wall and places his arm on his knee, wincing slightly.

"You should go to the hospital," I say.

Natsume shakes his head. "I'm not allowed to."

"What? Why not?"

He rests his head against the wall and closes his eyes. "I'm on probation."

"What for?"

"For trying to break out," he says with his eyes still closed.

"Oh," I say softly as I plop down beside him. "Yesterday?"

He nods his head.

I sigh softly. "Is this place always like this?"

The corner of his lips twitch. "You haven't seen anything yet."

I gulp nervously._Natsume is used to it._"Don't your parents know what he does?"

Natsume stiffens and opens his eyes slowly. "No, they don't."

"You should tell them, then."

"I can't."

"Why not?" I ask. Surely, his parents must be living here, in District 5.

"They're dead," He says flatly.

I blink. "I'm so sorry!" I say quickly. Oh gosh, I hadn't known that his parents were no longer living!

He gives me an odd look. "Don't be. You've never even met them."

I shrug. "Well it's common human nature."

He grunts. "Whatever."

I roll my eyes and then notice the blood oozing down into a bright pool of blood on the floor."Do you want me to fix your wounds?" I offer.

He shakes his head. "I don't trust girls who wear Polka dotted panties." He says, smirking slightly.

I cock my head to the side. What in the world does he mean? After a few seconds my eyes widen as I realize just what he's saying.

"You're really nasty, you know that right?" I shake my head in disbelief. "I can't believe you peeked at my underwear while you were cutting yourself, that's so bloody weird!"

He scoffs. "I didn't peek. You showed them to me."

I snort and then proceed to get up. "You know what? You can bleed to death for all I care. I'm going," I huff.

That doesn't seem to bother him, not even a little bit. "Sure go ahead," He drawls. "Hopefully you'll bump into Reo on your way back."

I stick my tongue out at him.

"Real mature, polka dots," He snickers.

I roll my eyes. "Bye, perv," I say and then I turn in the other direction. But before I turn around the corner Natsume calls out to me.

"Don't forget about your 'meeting' with Reo tomorrow!" He hollers while grinning maliciously.

"I won't," I say cheerfully. Ha, I bet he thought I'd be all gloomy and stuff.

But as I make my way back to my room, I can't quite help but ponder over what could happen to me tomorrow. Sure, my Alice will nullify his...but…I don't know. He seems like a person with loads of tricks up his sleeve.

I groan as I realize what I have done.

Oh, gosh. Why am I so slow?

I shake my head slightly. Panicking won't do me any good now.

I've already made a deal with the devil.

And there is no turning back.

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><p>Hehe I figured it was about time I updated, so voila!<p>

Tell me what you think :)

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><p><em>Carolle Royale<em>


	7. The Alpha's Order

**Disclaimer: No folks. GA does not belong to me. Buut this story does :)**

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><p><strong>AN : **Exams completo! Woot woot! Well just the first round though. My real ones are in March :/ Anyways here's the next chapter! :D

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><p><strong>The Alice Games<br>Chapter 7**: _The Alpha's order_

**~(*)~**

_It all started with a bang on the main door. One second I'm in my room finishing my homework and then the next I'm running downstairs to the kitchen. It's like I don't have any control over my limbs because I have no clue how I manage to run so quickly nor do I know how I manage to jump down eight steps –something which I can never manage to do under normal circumstances. Unless if I break a bone or two._

_My breath hitches sharply when I see three masked figures standing in the kitchen. All three of them have donned black from head to toe. The only thing which isn't black is their hair. Two of them are blonds and the other one has chestnut brown hair. All of them are standing around my Uncle -who's sitting on a chair placed in the middle of the room. His arms are tied behind his back and his expression is one of utter panic. He struggles against their hold, kicking and squirming. But it doesn't help. They have complete control over him. I hide behind the wall and allow myself to peek around the corner._

"_Where is she?" One of them hisses._

_Uncle's jaw tightens. "She's not here."_

"_Of course I know she's not here!" The one who had spoken earlier exclaims. "That's the sole reason_we're_here!"_

"_Calm down, Delta," the figure next to him says slowly. "I already know where she is."_

"_Then why have we even come to this rotten place?" Delta mutters darkly, glaring daggers at Uncle. "I can't believe we've wasted our time, you should've told me before, Gamma!"_

_Gamma chuckles."Well it's fun seeing you so muddled."_

_Delta shoots him a glare. "You're such a loser!"_

_Gamma snorts. "Coming from you, that's hilarious."_

"_Well at least I'm not some bigoted freak."_

"_What? Why in the world would you say that?" Gamma exclaims with confusion evident in his voice. "I am not bigoted!"_

"_Yes, you are," Delta says slyly. I can see his lips turn up, obviously grinning triumphantly._

"Both_of you are bigots." The last one of them interjects with a twinge of annoyance in his voice. "We haven't come here to bicker." That causes both Gamma and Delta to shut up._

"_Sorry, Beta," both of them say in unison._

_Beta turns his gaze to my Uncle. "You do know why we've come here, right?"_

_Uncle tightens his jaw. "It's not what you're thinking. You've got no proof."_

"_You know what I'm thinking?" Beta raises an eyebrow. "You're one of them too?"_

_Uncle whitens. "No! No! I'm not! It's-" he stops abruptly. "-it's not like that. Please," his voice takes on a pleading note, "don't hurt her. She's the only family I've got left."_

"_All that family crap won't work on me," Beta drawls out, taking something out of his coat. From where I am, I can't see what it is._

"_I've lost my family too and you don't see me whining," Delta puts in._

_Gamma rolls his eyes. "You've been whining for the last decade."_

"_Have not!" Delta says indignantly "Stop spouting nonsense!"_

"_Well I'll stop if you do."_

"_Boys!" Beta growls. "Enough!" He shakes his head. "Do you want me to tell Alpha about your childish bickering when you're supposed to be on duty?"_

_Delta and Gamma shake their heads quickly._

"_Sorry," Gamma mumbles._

"_Please don't tell him," Delta interjects nervously._

_Beta cracks a grin. "Thought so…"_

"_Who is this Alpha?" I hear Uncle ask begrudgingly._

_Delta and Gamma both share smug looks. Beta smirks. "Wouldn't you like to know?"_

_I see Uncle shrug. "I think I have the right to know who the leader behind all this is."_

_Beta's smirk widens and then he leans down to whisper something into Uncle's ears._

"_No!" Uncle gasps horrified. "Wait...you can't do this! It's against the law!"_

_Delta and Gamma snigger._

"_We_make_the law," Beta says triumphantly and with that he points the object at Uncle's head. "Any last words?"_

_My eyes widen when I realize what the object really is. It's a revolver! They're about to kill Uncle! I step aside from my hiding place and bolt inside the kitchen._

"_Stop! Stop!" I yell hysterically but to my dismay none of them can hear me. I move towards Beta, frantically waving my hands- yes I know, it's absurd but, what other choice do I have?_

_But he can't see me._

_None of them can see me._

_Not even uncle._

"_I-"_

_But Uncle never gets to finish his sentence because that's exactly when Beta decides to pull the trigger._

"_Uncle!" I screech out in horror as I see his body go slack against the chair, absolutely lifeless. Blood is oozing down his head, from where he was shot, leaving a pool of blood underneath the chair._

"_And that's why we came here," Beta drawled out lazily, as if he hadn't the faintest idea what degree of crime he had just committed._

**~(*)~**

"Rise and shine, pumpkin pie!" Someone chirps excitedly.

I groan and roll over, pulling the covers tightly over my head.

"Come on wiggly poo! Wakey wakey!

"Wait…what did you just call me?" I ask groggily as I open my left eye to see Miyaki standing there at the foot of the bed with a big smile plastered to her face. I heave a sigh of relief. So all of that was only a dream.

_Thank god._

She grins. "Wiggly poo! You were wiggling like a worm!"

I wince slightly. Great. She's back to being the 'bubbly' Miyaki. I don't know which one I detest more, the 'Brooding' Miyaki or the 'Bubbly' one. It's a hard choice. Both of them are totally mad.

"Yeah, it's fun doing that," I tell her.

"Fun dream?" She asks as she cocks her head to the side.

"Oh, totally." I give her a smile. "Now can you please go away? I'm trying to sleep."

She shakes her head. "Sorry, dear. You have to get dressed and go for breakfast."

I make a face. "I still don't get why_you_are here."

"To tell you of course!"

"What are you, my personal maid?"

She scoffs and then her eyes darken. "Have some respect," she says icily. "I'm your mentor." And just like that, she's switched from 'Bubbly' Miyaki to 'Brooding' Miyaki.

"Now hurry up and get dressed. Your classes commence from today."

**~(*)~**

I fidget with the hem of my skirt nervously as I walk behind Miyaki. Unlike yesterday, the corridors aren't deserted today. There's a bunch of kids, young and old bustling about in the corridors. More young than old actually. For every 17 year old, there are about five ten year olds. I frown. That's a bit odd... However I shake that off and continue looking at the students. Most of the older kids look like serious body builders, at least the boys do. The girls look pretty tough too, though I can't imagine any of them killing another Tribute in the Games. They look far too pretty for that. But then again, this District is probably initiating the whole 'if looks could kill' phrase. I make a mental note not to tick any of them off. It wouldn't do if the 'Dangerous born' start seeing me as a threat. Or more like a nuisance, really.

As I walk by, a few of them gaze in my direction curiously. They obviously know I'm a District Transferee, and they obviously don't like me - I can tell by the look in their eyes. I decide to ease the tension by smiling at them. There's no harm in smiling.

"Stop that," Miyaki hisses as she slows down to walk beside me.

"Stop what?" I ask, pretty confused. I wasn't even doing anything wrong!

"Stop smiling," she growls.

"Why?" I ask. What in the world is wrong with_smiling_? Isn't there a quote or something which says 'the strongest person is one who smiles despite all hardship'?

But apparently Miyaki doesn't think so. "Because," she glances over her shoulder as if to check if anyone was listening, "they'll probably think you're trying to act smug and they don't like competition."

Smug? They think I'm acting smug? How twisted is this place!

"But that's so stupid! Why would I be smug?"

"Why wouldn't you be? You've just transferred to the richest District in the whole country. I'd say you'd be smug."

"I also had to leave everyone I know behind," I remind her quite bitterly.

She shrugs. "Too bad for you."

I shake my head and take one last glance at the students behind me. Most of them are talking and a few of them are laughing. It's actually pretty normal. But yet...I can't quite shake the feeling that something seems off. I shrug; it's pretty stupid of me. Of course it seems off. It's not home.

**~(*)~**

"Go get some food and grab a chair. If you find one..."

I roll my eyes. What else does she think I'll do? And plus, I'm pretty sure all the chairs won't disappear or anything. I walk over to the line and grab a tray. After getting myself a plate of pancakes I glance around the cafeteria looking for an empty table to sit at. Most of them are already occupied and are full. Damn it...she was right! I look around once more and finally spot a free table at the back. There's only one girl sitting there. I grin. I found a place to sit!

Carrying my tray in my hand, I walk over to the table. The girl sitting there is idly munching on her oats. I notice she has icy blue hair, a colour which I've never seen before and that's saying something because I've seen people with neon pink hair.

"Can I sit here?" I ask.

She seems rather startled by that question and her blue eyes widen in disbelief. "Y-you want to sit here?" she asks tentatively.

I nod my head. "If that's okay with you."

"Umm...sure," she says.

I smile. "Thanks," I say as I place my tray down on the table. "I'm Mikan. What's your name?"

"Nobara," she says quietly while looking at her tray.

"I'm so excited to meet you!" I say while I start cutting my pancake. "I mean, you're like the first decent person I've met here."

Nobara chuckles softly but otherwise doesn't say anything.

"So..." I start once again after a few seconds. "Where are all your friends?"

She looks uncomfortable when I ask her that but she answers nonetheless. "I don't have any."

My eyes widen. "You don't have any?" I ask, disbelief marking my features. "Why ever not?" Honestly, how is it possible that this girl doesn't have any friends? She seems so sweet!

She shrugs hesitantly. "Well I guess I don't fit in here."

"We're on the same boat," I tell her.

That makes her crack a small grin. "Look at me, complaining when I've lived here all my life. It must be really hard for you, changing Districts and all."

"How did you know I changed Districts?" I ask and immediately feel stupid. Of course she would know! She's been living here all her life. Sometimes I truly feel like face-palming myself.

But she doesn't seem to think I'm stupid, instead she merely chuckles. "That's because you don't have this." She points to her collar which has a number '5' stitched onto it.

"What's that?" I ask nodding to the number on her collar.

"It's my rank," She murmurs.

"Woah, you're ranked 5! That's super good!"

She sighs dejectedly and reaches out to grab her spoon. "I guess, you can say that."

"Well it's better than being 25, isn't it?"

"How did you know that?"

"Know what?" I ask, while shoving a piece of pancake into my mouth. Even though this District sucks, the food doesn't. In fact, the food's terrific! It might not be as bad as I thought it would be. Living here, I mean. At least I'll always have one thing to look forward to each and every day: the food.

"How did you know about Rank 25?" she asks, genuinely confused.

I swallow the piece of pancake before answering. "Well obviously, 5 is better than 25. I mean, that's the thing everywhere, isn't it?"

She shakes her head. "If you're ranked after 25..." she pauses as if she's not sure whether she should tell me or not.

"What happens?"

She gulps. "There's no 26."

I widen my eyes. "What happens to number 26?"

Instead of answering me, she looks behind my shoulder. I turn around to see what or who she's looking at.

It's a girl.

Probably my age. She's wearing an apron and has a black mop in her hand. She's cleaning the floors.

Immediately my chest tightens and I feel rage coursing through my veins. "Is she 26?" I ask hotly.

Nobara gives me a sad smile. "I don't know," she says truthfully. "What I do know is, she's not in the top 25."

I take one last look at the girl and turn back to my waffles. I've already made an oath to myself. I haven't come to District 5 just to be some ruddy servant.

"How old are you?" I ask rather suddenly.

She looks confused. "I'm eighteen."

Eighteen...as in she's two years older than me. I guess that's why there are more younger students here, I think bitterly. Most of the older ones are probably working as servants in somebody's house.

"Hey, look. The Ice Princess is talking to someone!" A voice from behind Nobara sneers.

"Oh, leave it Hayate. She's not worth troubling."

The boy, Hayate comes into view. He's standing right beside our table with a mischievous expression flitting across his face. Next to him is another boy who strangely resembles a girl. The only reason why I figure he's a boy is because he's not wearing a skirt. Then again, he could be a girl wearing pants to cover up her hairy legs.

"Oh, but she is," Hayate grins and turns to Nobara. "Still stalking little girls?" he asks mockingly.

Nobara purses her lips. "Just go away, Hayate."

That only causes both him and the other boy to snigger. "Did you hear that Rui? She's finally grown some backbone!"

The other boy-Rui rolls his eyes. "It's probably because she's finally found a girlfriend."

Hayate snickers. "Still as yucky as ever, aren't you Noby?"

"Can you both just go away? Me and Nobara were perfectly fine before the two of you decided to grace us with your presence," I say as sweetly as I can muster.

Rui and Hayate exchange looks.

"My my, what do we have here?" Hayate grabs a chair and sits down. "You're the transferee aren't you?"

I lift my chin up defiantly. "Yes. I am."

Rui lets out a low whistle. "Feisty."

Hayate rolls his eyes. "Rui, you don't call girls that, remember?"

Rui shrugs. "I can do as I please."

Hayate ignores this and turns back to me. "Well I guess I'll see you around then. But remember this," his eyes bore into mine and his gaze intensifies, "we don't like outsiders." And with that, both of them get up from their chairs and saunter out of the Cafeteria.

"Well, they're pleasant," I say sarcastically, pouring maple syrup on top of my pancake.

Nobara snorts into her juice.

"Why did they call you Ice Princess?" I ask her.

She starts coughing. "Umm, you heard that?"

I nod. "So, why do they call you that?"

Nobara looks down at her shoes, which is pretty strange considering the fact that she's sitting and all. "It's because I have the Ice Alice," She says rather meekly.

"The Ice Alice?"

She nods.

"That is so cool! You could totally crush Hyuuga's Alice!"

Nobara laughs. "You've already met him?"

"Yeah," I huff. "He's such a git. I wish he was ranked 25. It'd be great to see him sink."

"That's not possible," Nobara tells me.

"Why not?"

"Because he's rank number 2."

**~(*)~**

"You've got to be shitting me!" I exclaim as both of us walk down the corridor. I haven't got the faintest clue where to go, so I was more than happy when Nobara offered to take me to the main office to get my schedule. "_He's_ranked 1?"

Nobara nods her head. "It's the truth."

"Bloody hell!" I exclaim loudly which earns me loads of glares from the other Alices. "First Hyuuga is number 2 and now Hayate is number 1? Don't tell me Rui is number 3!"

Nobara gives me a knowing look.

"Oh my gosh, he's number 3, isn't he?"

She supresses a smile. "That's the way it works over here."

I grunt. "Hmph. So who's number 4?"

"I am number 4."

I jump at the sound of that voice. It was just so sudden! I look over my shoulder to see a boy with purple hair standing behind both of us. His eyes are green, which is a very freaky combination if you ask me. Purple hair and green eyes.

"This is Takumi," Nobara tells me as she nods to the boy behind me.

"Nobara." He nods back but doesn't waste any time in formalities. He goes straight to the point. "You're Mikan Sakura, aren't you?"

I reel back, quite surprised. "Err...yes."

"Okay good. You need to go to the Principal's room. He's calling you," Takumi informs me.

I stiffen. Oh hell. How had I forgotten about that stupid deal I made? "Err. Okay. Thanks for telling me."

"Yeah, whatever." He waves a hand dismissively and then disappears down the hall.

"You're meeting Principal Reo?" Nobara asks skeptically.

I give her a weak smile. "I'll tell you about it when I come back, okay?"

She nods. "Okay."

I give her one last smile before turning around on my heels.

I'm so glad I've made a friend here.

**~(*)~**

"About time you showed up." Reo says from his seat. He's got his feet propped up on the table and there's a mug of coffee right next to them. "I thought you were going to bail."

"Well I did say that I was going to beat you, didn't I?"

He smirks. "Ahh, about that," He starts as he reaches out for the mug. "I'm not going to fight."

I furrow my eyebrows. "Then how will I beat you?"

He shrugs. "You can't."

"Well now you're the one bailing out!" I say indignantly.

He laughs. "You were foolish to think you can beat me. You haven't even been trained."

"But my Al-"

"Oh, enough talk about your Alice!" He cuts me off swiftly. "You're in my school. You have to follow my rules. You've already pissed me off a bunch of times. If I want, I can just rank you right now despite your not having any training and then you'll be cleaning the toilets."

I bite my lips. For all I know, that's exactly what he's planning to do. "I didn't switch Districts to work as a toilet cleaner."

He raises an eyebrow. "Then prove that you're worth being here."

I nod. If that's what it takes, then sure. "How?"

He thinks for a while, with his hand under his chin. Then his face lights up and there's amusement dancing in his eyes. "I've got the perfect idea."

"What is it?"

He smiles maliciously. "You'll have to go on a mission."

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><p>Haha, I'm cruel.<p>

You can also mention that in a review ;)

And oh, I just couldn't resist the 'I am number 4' part. It'll probably be the only crack part in this story xD

Till next time :)

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><p><em>Carolle Royale<em>


	8. Toothless

**Disclaimer : All recognizable characters belong to Tachibana Higuchi and the 'Games' part of this story belongs to Suzzane Collins. This story is mine with many parallels to the Gakuen Alice manga.**

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><p><strong>AN : **Eh. I'm really not supposed to be posting anything this whole month (O.W.L.S level exams and all). But what can I say, I'm in a good mood :) Also, I'm spazzing over The Hunger Games which is due to release later on this month. Seriously, I've watched the trailors so many times it must be unhealthy. Also, please don't kill me when you read the end of this chapter. With that said, I hope you guys enjoy! :)

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><p><strong>The Alice Games<br>Chapter 8: **_Good things can never come from a tooth_

**~(*)~**

"A mission?" I repeat rather dubiously after him. Is that what he really said?

Reo nods enthusiastically before taking a sip of his coffee. "That's right," he licks his lips, "a mission."

I furrow my eyebrows. That was totally out of the blue. What kind of mission will I have to do? So I ask him that and he replies by saying that I have two options.

"You can either go on the mission, or pay a visit to the Roaster," he informs me slyly, reclining his chair backwards. I hope the chair breaks or something, but I guess that's just too much to ask for.

"Cat got your tongue?"

I roll my eyes at him. Both of the options suck, but I completely rule out the Roaster. I don't want to be trapped in some wacky oven. Knowing Reo, he'll probably fry my skin or something.

"I'll take the mission," I tell him slowly, still unsure. For all I know, the mission could be related to cleaning toilets or some other domestic issue.

He cracks a grin, showing an array of perfect white teeth which immediately makes me jealous. "Thought so," he drawls out lazily.

"So," I ask, still a bit unsure about the current situation I'm in, "what will I have to do?"

He allows that lazy grin to linger on his face. "You have to kill a bear," he tells me and then winks impishly like I've missed the joke.

"A bear?" I exclaim, my eyes widening immediately. "Where in the world am I going to find a bear?" And furthermore, how the hell am I going to kill it?

He gives me a condescending look. "The Northern Woods of course." He says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

My mouth falls wide open and the colour drains from my face. "T—the Northern Woods?" I splutter. "Have you gone mental? That place if off-limits! The President will have my head if he finds out!"

Reo doesn't seem to be bothered by that fact and merely shrugs. "You could always just go to the Roaster." I scowl darkly at him, but that of course doesn't deter him. "My dogs like fried meat," he provides helpfully.

I stare at him with horror clearly written across my face. "This is my life you're toying with." I manage to force the words out of my mouth. "So stop making stupid jokes!" I exclaim.

"I'm not making jokes," he tells me quite solemnly. Then he sighs. "Tell you what, if you come back from the Northern Woods, I'll place you in the top 10 without the normal trial and training. How does that sound?"

I consider his offer for a moment. That actually makes the Northern Woods seem a bit more appealing. I really wasn't looking forward to all that training anyway, and if he actually places me in the top 10, I won't have to worry about becoming a servant. Then a thought occurs to me and I narrow my eyes suspiciously. Why in the world is he offering this to me? It doesn't seem right. There_has_to be a catch somewhere...

"What's in it for you?" I ask him with my eyes still narrowed.

He removes his feet from the table, clasps his hands together and gives me a bright smile. "Remember, I said_if_you come back. This clearly means that I'm not expecting you to, but in case you do, I'll give you my word about being placed in the top 10."

_If_I come back.

I gulp nervously.

He notices this and his grin broadens. "Having second thoughts?"

"No," I say as I grit my teeth. "I'm going to the Northern Woods and I_will_be placed in the top 10. But wait," my voice falters as I remember what he had said yesterday, "didn't you say that the top 10 has more chances of getting selected for the Games?"

"Yes," he says simply. "They do. Being in the Top 10 gives you the privilege of taking someone else's place in the Games even if they want to go."

"And I will want to risk my life because..?"

He rolls his purple eyes at me and takes another sip of his black coffee. "Oh please," he interjects smoothly, "being in the top 10 is being part of the most elite group of people in this District. You'll have options, unlike the rest of the students on whether you want to be a Tribute in the Games or not. Someone else will always be willing to take your place."

"And what if someone doesn't?"

His lips twitch. "That will never happen. Volunteers are ample here."

"Okay, so if I complete this mission, I'll be placed somewhere in the top 10 and I will never have to be a Tribute in the Games even if I'm picked in the reaping?" I ask. It sounds a bit too good to be true.

"Yes, that is correct."

Suddenly a thought occurs to me. He never said that I'll have to bring the bear here for proof. So all I can do is go to the Northern Woods, stay there for a couple of hours and come back before nightfall and voila! I'll be in the Top 10. A small grin forms on my lips. Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as I'd thought it would be...

"And oh," he says abruptly, interrupting my inner thoughts, "you'll have to get the bear's tooth for proof. Wouldn't want you to just dawdle in the Forest like a hooligan doing nothing and come back here like you've won some sort of contest."

The grin slides off my face instantaneously and is replaced with a frown instead. How the hell had he known what I was thinking? If I hadn't known better, I would've thought that his Alice is Mind-Reading.

"A tooth," My voice is incredulous. What is wrong with this man?

"A tooth," he repeats after me as if it's completely and utterly normal.

"All right. So I guess I'll be going bear tooth hunting then," I shake my head. What I just said sounded so utterly stupid. Misaki and Tsubasa would've been laughing their heads off at heart quenches just by thinking about them. Are they missing me? Are they all right? Did Koko finally get the guts to ask Anna out?

I'll never find out.

"Very well," He nods his head approvingly. "You can pay a visit to the weapon's room. Here take this card, it'll de-activate the lock."

I nod brusquely and take the card from him. "Okay," I say with determination evident in my voice.

"And if you don't come back by nightfall...I'll just assume that you're dead."

I bite my lips.

_Now that's very encouraging._

**~(*)~**

I whistle loudly as I see all the weapons in the room. No wonder it's called the 'weapon's room'. There's got to be at least a hundred knives, guns and swords here. Surprisingly it wasn't hard to find; there were loads of directions with arrow marks leading here.

I guess everyone here takes their weapons seriously.

My eyes roam around the room in search of something useful for killing a bear. I don't know what to use, heck I don't even think I'll find a bear! With my luck, I'll probably find a mountain lion instead of a bear and then I'll be mountain lion chow. I shudder, even if I somehow_did_manage to find one, would I have what it takes to kill it? I've never killed anything in my life. Well, except for cockroaches and mosquitoes but they're complete nuisances so they don't count. My eyes widen when I realize what I've agreed to. This is all probably a trap! Someone from the Alice City will definitely be waiting for me down there, and once they find me out of the boundaries, they'll take me to The Alice City and throw me into the Juvenile prison!

I bring my hands up to cover my face and then groan into them. Reo did seem sure that I wouldn't be coming back...

_Think Mikan! He did say that if you come back, you'll get a good rank._

I bring my hands down from my face and they glide down my neck. I pause when I feel an object around my throat. I look down and a smile flits across my face.

It's the good luck charm Tsubasa and Misaki gave to me for my birthday. Fingering the pendant, I nod my head. I would've never thought that I'd last even a day over here but I had. This is District 5.

Dangerous Ability.

The Northern Woods are probably less dangerous than this place. So with my mind back to normal, I walk over to the array of knives. I pick up the two sharpest ones I can spot and put them in the belt pouch Miyaki had given me. I was actually surprised when I saw tears in her eyes. She seemed genuinely concerned for my wellbeing. She also gave me a small rucksack saying that I could put the bigger weapons in there.

I then move over to the gun stock. I've actually never seen one before in real life, just on T.V and my dream last night. I shudder slightly. That dream certainly did seem real. Thank heavens that it wasn't.

I pick up a small gun, a pistol I think, and hold it in my hand pretending to shoot. I grin, this is actually quite fun!

Next to the pistol is a packet of bullets. I place them in the rucksack along with the pistol. I think a pistol and two knives are enough for killing a bear. I'm not that bad at chucking things (used to chuck paper balls at Koko almost every day, it always hit him smack on the head!) so maybe I can somehow manage to chuck a knife at the bear? I shake my head at my idiocy and load three more guns into my rucksack.

This should do the trick.

Sighing softly, I sling the strap over my shoulder and leave the room, activating the lock as I shut the door behind me. There isn't anyone in the corridors, they all must've gone to class. I quickly walk down the hallway, my footsteps echoing against the white marble floor. After a couple of minutes, I near the main entrance where two men are guarding the only exit/entrance to this place.

I groan quietly. Reo had never told me exactly_how_to get to the Northern Woods! I certainly can't just waltz out of this place with two guards at the doorway. Biting my lips, I try to formulate some sort of plan. This is all a part of Reo's idiotic scheme, I conclude. If he truly did want me to go to the woods, he would've told his guards to back-off.

_Maybe that's exactly what he's trying to test. Reverse psychology._

Taking a deep breath, I walk over to the two guards who are in the middle of arguing about some issue.

"But Alpha clearly wants us to do that!" One of them is saying while waving his hands about the place.

"Well Beta is the one we report to. We can't just do as we please," The other one replies smoothly.

"That's because you're a sissy." The one with the rapid gestures interjects glumly. "I say we do it."

I blink when I hear their voices properly. This can't be...

"Why do you want to do it now anyway? I hadn't thought you were one of those bloodthirsty types."

Bloodthirsty types? What in the world are they talking about? I shake my head. This is absolutely absurd.

"Because I like the—" he stops tersely when he sees me and then frowns. "What are you doing out of class?" His voice is gruff and I can tell that he's annoyed by my sudden intrusion.

My eyes widen momentarily and I'm caught off guard. "Principal Reo told me to pick up a few things from town," I recover quickly and lie smoothly. "See? I've even got my bag to carry all the things that he wants."

He nods. "All right, you can go—"

"No she can't," The other one says sternly. "For all we know, she could be trying to escape."

I fight the urge to moan. Damn him. He's actually smart.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not trying to escape," I tell him, "If I were, trying to escape that is, I wouldn't walk out of the front door now, would I?" But that's exactly what I'm trying to do. Well sort of. They don't need to know.

"That's actually a valid point," The-not-so smart one puts in after pondering over it for a moment.

"Okay fine. You can go," The smart one says with a frown plastered on his face. He seems rather dubious about the whole issue but decides that I'm probably telling the truth.

I grin at them. "Thanks!" And then head out of the door, with my back-pack loaded with guns.

But my grin soon wavers.

I had just met Gamma and Delta.

**~(*)~**

My breath hitches as I eye the massive wall in front of me. Sure, I had somehow succeeded in getting out of the Academy, but this? How in the world was I going to climb over a twenty-foot wall?

I scratch my head, trying to find a way. Then a smile flits across my face and I open my back-pack and take out one of the many guns that I packed.

"You know, shooting your way out of here won't work," A voice from behind me says rather mockingly. "Believe me, the walls are quite sturdy."

Quite shocked at the sudden noise, I twirl around and my finger pulls the trigger. The bullet just narrowly misses him.

"Damn it, woman," Natsume mutters, his red eyes glinting with annoyance. "Are you trying to kill me?"

My eyes widen with horror at the reality of what I've just done. "I'm so sorry!" I immediately say, "I mean it was a reflex action! You scared me!"

He scoffs. "Reflex action, yeah right."

"It was!" I protest. "Do you really think that I would do that on purpose?"

He opens his mouth to reply but I cut him off.

"Well now that I think about it, I wish that it hit you. There would've been one less insufferable git in this place then," I huff out, while I place the gun back in my bag.

He ignores the jab. "Trying to escape already, are we polka dots?"

I roll my eyes. "No, I'm not."

"Then?"

I halt for a minute. Should I tell him what I'm really doing? I shrug. It wouldn't hurt to tell him.

"I have to get a bear's tooth for Reo." I decide to tell him the truth even though it's slightly cracked.

I notice him stiffening. "He asked_you_to get that?" His voice is incredulous— like it was someone_else's_duty to bring Reo a random bear tooth.

I give him an odd look. "Yes," I stress the word, "he did."

He mutters something under his breath and runs a hand through his hair. "I'll come with you," he says finally.

I shake my head. "Sorry, no can do. I have to do this by myself." I tighten the strap of my back-pack. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go bear hunting," I smirk before turning my back on him.

"No. You're not going alone," he hisses and reaches out to grab my bag, holding me in place. "I'm coming with you."

I glance over my shoulder and give him a sour look. "Let go of my bag, Hyuuga!"

"I'm coming with you," he repeats once more, his voice hard.

"Why in the world would you want to do that?" I ask him quite exasperatedly. Last I checked, he wanted to burn me. Why this sudden act of decency?

He shrugs. "I've got my reasons," he says and then pushes my bag—which ultimately makes me stumble forward. I spear him with a deadly glare which he fluidly dismisses. "Plus I know how to get out of here," he says, smiling mischievously.

I sigh softly. There really is nothing to say against that.

Damn him.

**~(*)~**

"So do you come here often?" I ask, trying to break the ice. He indeed knew a way of getting out of the Academy.

He blasted the wall.

_Exactly_like the first time I had met him.

No wonder Miyaki got pissed.

We've probably been in the Forest for about an hour or two now, but there's still no sign of a bear. And to top it all off, Natsume is as charming as a dead rat— well at least I somehow managed to convince him to carry my gun-loaded bag for me. Now that burden is off my shoulder (literally) but him being a stupid mute isn't.

Seriously, no matter what I say (or do for that matter) he doesn't say anything, just stares straight ahead.

"Hello?" I wave my hand in front of his face. "I'm talking to you, Hyuuga. Reply!"

He sends me a scowl. "Can you be quiet? You'll scare off all the bears." He quickens his pace and strides deeper into the forest.

I struggle to keep up with him but it's not that easy. All the shrubs and bushes keep getting in my way.

"Urgh, stop walking so damn fast!" I say exasperatedly as I nearly trip over a thorny bush. My hands fly out in front of me to steady myself but it's a bit too late. The thorns have already scratched my legs and it won't be long before the blood starts oozing out. "Do you_want_me to die?"

Natsume glances over his shoulder and I can see that his lips are twitching. "You won't die if you fall, Polka," he informs me, smirking slightly.

I resist the urge to pick up the thorns and fling them at his smirking face. "If I fell on that bush, my face would've been full of thorns!" I exclaim as I step away from said bush.

"But you didn't," is his smartarse reply.

"_If_I did Hyuuga! It was a possibility!" I exclaim as I walk over to where he's standing.

"I don't believe in possibilities."

"Well there's always a possibility. I mean, there's always another situation that can probably occur."

He snorts. "Yeah, like_if,"_he emphasizes on the word, "you were smart, you wouldn't have gotten yourself into this mess in the first place. But you're not smart and you never will be. Hence it's not a possibility. So don't use that word when you don't know what it means."

I look at him disbelievingly. "The only reason why we are out here is because I saved your sorry arse yesterday!"

"I had everything under control," He says harshly, his crimson eyes glinting dangerously. "You didn't have to interfere."

"Yeah, well, mutilating your arm with a knife is oh-so-I-have-everything-under-control," I retort sarcastically.

He looks at me like I've come from some other planet or something. Perhaps I have. District 4 isn't anything like this place. "It would've been fine if you hadn't decided to butt your big nose into the issue."

I decide to ignore the big nose jab and proceed to the more important thing at hand. "Ha!" I exclaim as I point an accusing finger at him, "You used the word 'if'! You're such a hypocrite, Mr.-I- don't-believe- in–possibilities."

"For stupid people," he finishes my statement. "When you're a genius like me, there are numerous possibilities in the world."

"You do know that you've called me stupid twice, right?" I say as I shake my head. This guy is seriously messing with my brain.

"Exactly my point," Natsume says as he starts walking again. "Geniuses such as I, don't have to recheck anything. We're always sure about the issue."

I jog a bit to catch up with him even though he's been walking for a few seconds. Damn him and his long legs! "Are you always this charming?" I ask sweetly. "Or is this some sort of special treatment?"

"Oh no," he doesn't even bat an eyelash. "This is reserved only for stupid people."

I resist the urge to scream.

"You're a cocky ba—" I start but the word quickly dies in my mouth as Natsume halts suddenly, making me bump into his muscular back—not that I've noticed it before, his back I mean. It was quite hard not to what with my face being squashed by it (stupid height difference)

I let out a small 'ooff!' as I step away from him and then smoothen my shirt.

"What is wrong with you?" I ask him. "Don't just stop walking like that!"

I'm expecting a snarky answer but Natsume doesn't say anything. He just stares straight ahead, his expression one of utter horror and shock. Well what I think is horror and shock. With Natsume, even him _smiling_would make me think that he's in a state of mental despair.

Though, he actually_does_seem taken aback and his lips are moving rapidly, muttering profanities under his breath. What has gotten the great Natsume Hyuuga so shaken? I look away from his face and my eyes fall upon a figure straight ahead.

It's a girl, from what I can tell. She's standing a few feet away from us and her midnight black hair is left loose behind her back. She's wearing a cute blue sundress and her hands dangle loosely at her sides. But something about her seems...familiar. Like I've seen her someplace before.

My eyes widen upon realisation and I feel as if my breath has been knocked out of me.

It's the little girl from the Aptitude Test! I'm sure of it! But why does Natsume look so uncomfortable? Before I can ask him what's wrong, he mutters one coherent word.

"Aoi."

* * *

><p><em>Carolle Royale<em>


	9. Blue

**Disclaimer : All recognizable characters belong to Tachibana Higuchi and the 'Games' part of this story belongs to Suzzane Collins. This story is mine with many parallels to the Gakuen Alice manga.**

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><p><strong><strong>A N :**** Thanks for all the reviews guys! They totally made my day :D And sorry for the super long wait! My Finals get over in 3 days but I just _had_ to post this today. THE HUNGER GAMES RELEASED TODAY! EEK! So this chapter is basically for THG (and Peeta Mellark, and all you guys too! :D)

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><p><strong>The Alice Games<br>Chapter 9: **_The girl in blue_

**~(*)~**

My eyes widen with disbelief as I realize what he said was a name. Presumably the name of the girl. But how does he know her? And why is she out here by herself?

"Natsume," the girl quietly murmurs as she walks towards us, "it's so good to see you."

Natsume blinks rapidly a couple of times as if he's trying to figure out whether she's real or not. After a few seconds of thorough checking (blinking) his lips quirk up and he smiles.

That's right.

He_smiles._

No smirks.

No sneers.

A genuine smile.

"I thought I'd never see you again," he exhales softly, his eyes soft. "Wow, you've grown."

She chuckles slightly. "I'm not eleven years old anymore, Natsume," she says wryly, her black hair moving behind her like a cascade of water. Her eyes, which are as red as rubies flicker to mine and she grins at me.

Black hair...red eyes...

"You're Natsume's sister?" I blurt out, making the connection. She has to be, the resemblance between the two is quite striking.

Aoi smiles at me. "Yes, I am." She looks back at Natsume. "She's pretty smart."

I giggle as I see Natsume's expression. He looks down at his sister with mock horror feigned on his face. "My God, Aoi. If you're calling a dweeb like her smart, you've totally lost your Hyuuga brain."

Hyuuga brain?

"The dweeb has a name you know," I put in indignantly. Seriously. He doesn't get a right to call me a dweeb. I mean, who the hell is he to judge me?

Natsume waves his hand dismissively at my comment. "No one wants to talk to the dweeb."

"I do!" Aoi says while giggling. "You're Mikan Sakura, aren't you?"

I blink, absolutely confused. Sure, I might have seen her before in some sort of virtual world, but really, how the hell does she know my name? That's just plain creepy. Natsume seems pretty lost too.

"You know the dweeb's name?" Natsume blurts out, his eyebrows furrowed, looking as confused as me.

The corner of Aoi's lips twitch and she looks down at her feet. "We've met before," she says quietly as she lifts her eyes up to meet mine. "You do remember me, don't you?"

I nod my head absently, words not being able to come out of my mouth. I'm far too confused. Was that virtual world real? Oh lord._Green_...

A shiver runs down my spine as I imagine her out there somewhere with all her arrows, probably looking for me. With my luck, she's probably in this very forest or something.

_Hell..._

"How the hell do you know Polka?" Natsume demands as he narrows his eyes at his sister. "In fact, why in the world did you come here? I thought what I said last time was final."

Aoi shrugs her shoulders with ease. "I can do as I please," she tells her brother. "Though I really don't have that much time on my hands."

"Don't you live in 5?" I ask her, finally finding my voice and to my utter astonishment, it's steady. Not quivering like I'd thought it'd be.

Aoi's eyes look sad as she answers me. "No...not anymore.." she says the last word so quietly that I wonder if she even said it. I reach out to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She probably changed districts like me so I do understand her.

As I move over to touch her shoulder, Aoi flinches away. "No, don't," she says quickly, taking a step back, "My Alice will de-activate."

"Wait...what?" I backtrack. So if I touch her, her Alice will de-activate? Was she even using her Alice right now?

"She has the mirage Alice," Natsume explains to me and then proceeds to look at his sister rather tiredly. "Really Aoi, I thought I told you not to do this anymore. It's not worth the risk."

Aoi's lips press into a thin line. "I'm not risking anything."

Natsume rolls his eyes and then shakes his head. "Aoi...that day I told you not to come anymore! Didn't I tell you that it's even more dangerous now? I don't know how you did it all before all these years, there must've been some glitch, but he's more careful now and when you go back it'll be he—"

"Nothing will!" Aoi interrupts harshly. "It's fine Natsume! I came here for a reason."

"What do you have to tell me?" He asks her, his voice soft—something I'd never imagine him to do for anyone else. "It must be something imp—"

Aoi shakes her head. "It's isn't about you, Natsume. I have to speak to Mikan."

"Well whatever you want to say you can say it in front of me." Natsume folds his arms across his chest, "I'm your brother and I have a righ—"

"No you don't!" Aoi exclaims. "This hasn't got anything to do with you! Why can't you just get that?"

"Aoi…"

"I want to speak to Mikan alone and that's final."

I widen my eyes. Surely this couldn't be good news…

He quirks an eyebrow at her before letting out a deep breath. "Fine," he says, but I can tell that he isn't pleased by the tight set of his jaw. "Be that way." And with that he brushes past me and saunters off to God knows where.

For a moment I get this random urge to laugh at Natsume's childish behaviour. So what if his sister wants to talk to me instead of him? That doesn't give him a reason to go sulk in a corner. But then the longing to laugh slowly dies away.

He just walked away with_my_bag.

Damn him.

I knew there was a downside to this!

"I know this all must be pretty bizarre for you," Aoi starts saying, "but what I'm going to tell you is very_very_important."

"What is it?" I murmur, craning my neck to spot that idiot. I hope he hasn't walked too far ahead. It'll be dark in a few hours and if I don't manage to find him, I'll be dead. Seriously, with no weapons on me, I'm as defenseless as a two year old kid.

Aoi bites her lips before leaning over to whisper in my ear.

I freeze and the colour drains out of me rapidly. My breath hitches and I suddenly find it rather difficult to breathe. I force the words to come out of my lips. "How do you—?" I start, but my voice falters. But Aoi seems to understand what I meant to ask her.

"I'm his prisoner," her tone is light but her face tells otherwise.

Prisoner? What the-? "But...but...how—" my voice halts when I notice that there's a hole in her stomach. Literally. There's a big hole in her stomach, like that part has vanished or something.

"Aoi!" I point at her stomach."Tha—"

She looks down and curses. "Damn. My time's up." She scowls at her stomach (under normal circumstances that would've caused me to laugh) and then looks back at me. "But Mikan just remember what I said, be careful," she gives me a small smile. "And please, watch out for my brother. He may be a total pain in the arse but—" she hesitates but then shakes her head and continues, "he may be the biggest arse in the world but he's the only family I've got left and I don't want to lose him."

And with that, Aoi's whole body dematerializes and she disappears into thin air.

Within a flash, my knees give out and I sink down onto the forest floor.

Family.

_I've managed to lose them all._

**~(*)~**

I close my eyes as I lean my head against the back of a tree. I don't know how long I've been sitting here, with my back propped against the trunk of some random tree. Maybe it's been a few minutes, maybe it's been an hour, maybe it's been a few hours. I don't know. And I don't care.

After Aoi disappeared, I hadn't even bothered to look for Hyuuga. He can rot away in this place for all I care. I snort as I shuffle against the tree trunk. Who am I fooling? If anything,_I'll_be the one rotting, not him. He's the one with all the weapons and god knows he's probably been here countless times before. But a small voice in the back of my head admonishes me for being so ridiculous. If Hyuuga had actually been here before, why did he go back to D5? Probably because he figured that he'd be a goner here all by himself, another voice, presumably_not_the saint like one mutters darkly.

I let out a sigh and pull my legs to my chest. I can't believe I have different_voices_inside my head. This cannot possibly be normal.

_Since when has anything about you been normal?_

I grit my teeth in frustration and my hands clench into fists beside me. I know I'm a total freak! I don't need my conscience rubbing it in too. Ever since I was little, I wanted to tour the world, to see everything. I wanted to go to Egypt— all the stories about the mummies and pharaohs fascinated me and I was always in awe of Cleopatra. I wanted to go to the moon, outer space seemed totally cool. I wanted to go to the Amazon Rainforest at one point. I think I even wanted to visit the Alice City. Rumours have it that that city is beautiful. It's every Alice's dream. Too bad Kuoniji owns it along with everything else.

Uncle had laughed at my dreams. He'd said that I could always fantasize, but none of it would actually come true. We were stuck here in this goddamn country for the rest of our lives.

I wondered from time to time what the rest of the countries thought of this. Did they know that we even existed anymore? They probably didn't. I bet Kuoniji had somehow managed to clear all traces of Japan from all the Global maps. Japan was once a prosperous country, we were industrial giants, and our economy would always rapidly increase despite the numerous hardships we had to face. But this hardship...it will probably last for eternity.

Alices and Civilians lived together in harmony, we all co-existed peacefully. But then that bastard just had to ruin everything. The day he overthrew the original Alice Academy, there was War everywhere. Tons of people were killed, both Alices and Civilians and in the end, he somehow managed to slaughter every single non-Alice.

I shudder when I think about that. I'm so glad that I hadn't been born then...but then again, being alive now is even worse. Though there is no more large scale slaughter, the Games are still here and truthfully, this is possibly the worst thing I can imagine. Children killing each other for the amusement of some sick deranged man? That's completely inhumane! Uncle would've—

_Uncle._

I let out an unstable breath. This...all of this just seemed too surreal.

"_Your Uncle isn't alive anymore, Mikan. He defied the President's orders."_

How could she possibly know? I mean, we're basically strangers and she knows about my uncle? She could be wrong, I tell myself. Uncle wouldn't do anything like that, he's too smart to make a mistake. But deep down inside something tells me that she isn't. Wrong, that is. After all, I had seen her before —bizarre as it is and my dream the other night...it honestly can't be a mere coincidence. And her being his prisoner...

I open my eyes slowly and I'm shocked to feel that my cheeks are moist. I hadn't notice that I'd been crying. Normally, I refrain from shedding tears. It makes me feel weak and I hate it when people see me cry. But right now, I don't give a shit.

I'll probably never go back to D5. I'll probably end up dying here in the forest. There's no way I can make it back before the sun sets- it's already pretty low in the horizon so I think I've got only an hour or two before it becomes twilight. And when it becomes dark...

I might find a bear, I think wryly to myself.

Even though it wouldn't do me any good.

I haven't got any means to extract a tooth from anything nor do I have the strength to do so. All I want to do is lie down and gaze at the sky and brood and wallow in self-pity. It's extremely selfish of me and childlike but honestly, what do I have to live for? I don't have any parents and my last of kin is dead. Furthermore, I'll never be allowed to meet my friends ever again and they're —

"Polka."

My back stiffens and just like that, that one word changes_everything_.

I slowly lift my head up from my knees to see Natsume standing a few feet away from me, near some bushes. A small gasp escapes my lips when I take in his tattered form. His shirt is torn from the side and his jeans are ripped till his knee. I look up at his face and grimace when I see the injury on his forehead; it's enough to make me feel uneasy.

"You're bleeding," I say as I get up from my position and walk towards where he's standing. "Shit Natsume, you're bleeding like crazy."

He shrugs his shoulder impassively and then rummages through his pocket. "Here," He places something sharp inside my palm.

I look at the thing curiously. It looks like a—

"It's the bear tooth," Natsume says after a couple of seconds of waiting for my reply.

Oh.

_Ahh._

I_so_knew that.

"Where did you get it from?"

He scoffs and rolls his eyes at me. "A bear."

Thanks for stating the obvious, moron.

"No," I shake my head, "I meant, how did you get it? You didn't kill the thing, did you?"

"Of course not," he says fluidly, "I just went up to the bear and pulled out one of its teeth."

Shock flits across my face but then I realize the absurdity of what he just said. "Har har, you think you're so funny, don't you?"

"Maybe there's a reason why I'm not laughing."

Stupid smartass.

I open my mouth to say something extraordinarily witty back at him but my gaze drops down to his arm —which to my dismay, is cut severely.

"Oh lords Natsume," I whisper as I step closer to him to observe his cut, "Did you wrestle with the bear?"

"No…" He says and I immediately feel a huge wave of relief wash over me. "I wrestled with the tiger."

What the heck is wrong with this guy?

"You wrestled with a tiger!" I all but screech. "Have you gone absolutely mental?"

Natsume kind of winces at the loudness of my voice. "Well it just jumped on me after I killed the bear. What was I supposed to do?"

I scowl at him. "Oh, gee I don't know," I start, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "Shoot it, perhaps?"

His lips twitch slightly. "I sort of lost your bag."

I let out a small groan.

Great.

Just great.

This was_terrific._

I look up at the sky. The sun has already set and it's beginning to get dark. There is no way we'll make it to the Academy before nightfall.

I sigh.

"Looks like we're going to have to spend the rest of the night here."

Natsume lets out a grunt. I cock an eyebrow at him. This was_his_fault, not mine.

This was definitely going to be a_very_long night.

**~(*)~**

"Could you try not to damage me more? I'm already bleeding to death."

I send him a glare as I continue to mend his wounds. We had somehow managed to find a small stream nearby and I had immediately insisted upon cleaning his wounds. I couldn't let him just bleed like that in front of me. Heck, I'm sure I can't do that to anyone. I'm just not like that.

But now I'm seriously having second thoughts.

"Can you_shut_up?" I hiss menacingly at him as I pour water over his hand. "This is all_your_bloody fault in the first place! If you hadn't been so moody, none of this would've happened!"

He scowls at me. "I was not moody."

I throw him a look before I proceed to patch his arm up with a leaf — weird, I know but really can you blame me? All the First Aid was in my bag...which he so conveniently lost.

Moron.

"Yes, you were," I say as I tie the leaves around his arm. "If you hadn't stalked off after Aoi said that she wanted to talk to me then you wouldn't have gotten jumped by a tiger."

He grunts.

"Really how did you kill it?" I ask, genuinely curious. I mean, how did he? He didn't have any weapons on him.

Natsume winces ever so slightly when I tighten the leaves with a stem of a flower. "I used my dagger."

Oh.

So he_did_have a weapon on him. That sneaky bastard. To think I was sort of admiring him for killing a tiger with his bare hands.

"There." I beam as I tighten the last stem. "You're as good as new."

Natsume scoffs when he sees his arm. "I wouldn't say that this is new, Polka. My arm looks like I've taken a trip to the florist."

I gape at him. He sure has some nerve. "Well if you hadn't lost my bag I would've been able to put on a_real_bandage!"

I was expecting him to say something sarcastic back at me, like call me a dweeb or something but you know what he did?

He flicked my forehead.

Yes, that's right.

The stupid moron flicked my forehead.

"Why in the world did you do that?" I ask, indignant. "You can't go around—"

"Because you're annoying," he interrupts me. "Now, quit talking. You'll attract the animals."

I open my mouth to tell him that's he's talking bollocks but then I snap it shut. The moron does have a point. There could be loads of wild animals frolicking around here so it would be wise for me to just stay quiet. I cross my arms over my chest. "What do we do now?"

He closes his eyes for a few brief seconds and I take that time to let my gaze linger on his face. He actually doesn't look so intimidating when his eyes are closed, he looks normal, I guess. Not like some crazy sixteen year old who has seen things normal sixteen year olds have never seen before. In fact, he is kind of attractive. In a badass kind of way— which is totally not my type. I'm a total sucker for cute boys which Natsume is not. Plus his lips are so..._thin_and they're curling upwards…

"Can I help you with something?" Natsume asks, his eyes dancing with amusement as he eyes me.

I turn instant traitor against my gender.

"Yes, you can," I say curtly, not at all enjoying the mischievous glint in his eyes. "Tell me, what do we do now?"

He licks his lips, which causes me to scowl darkly. Is he_trying_to be funny? Because if anything, it's just irritating me. "How good are you at climbing trees?"

That totally catches me off guard. "Wha—what?"

He rolls his eyes. "How good are you at climbing trees? Like have you had any experience at it before or anything?"

I shake my head slowly. "Umm...no. There weren't many trees back in 4."

He clicks his tongue and shakes his head. "Well that's just too bad," he says while smirking mischievously.

I gulp.

This wasn't going to be good.

**~(*)~**

"I swear if I fall I'm going to kill you." I hiss as I shift to move away from him. This causes the branch to move vigorously which only increases my nervousness. I can't believe bloody Hyuuga convinced me to climb this damn tree. I hadn't even known that I had it in me. Well he did help me out but still. I thought I'd just tumble off the first branch itself. We are definitely twenty feet above the ground and if I fall I'll be a goner. On the bright side, it isn't possible for any bears or tigers to get me up here.

I hear Natsume snort. "You can't kill me if you fall," he says brusquely."You'll already be dead."

"Well I'll just drag myself back from purgatory and kill you," I bite out. "How does that sound?"

"Lame," he responds as he shifts a bit. The branch squeaks.

"Stop that!" I hit his shoulder. "If you keep moving then the branch might break!"

I can practically feel him roll his eyes even though I can't see it. The sun has already set and it's getting darker by the second. "Stop moaning Polka. The branch is very sturdy. It won't break," he informs me. "Well it might if you randomly have an urge to dance or something," he adds.

Now I snort. "Why the hell would I dance?"

He shrugs. "I dunno. You seem like the tree-dance-girl type."

What the hell?

"And you're the sulking-because-my-sister-didn't-want-to-talk-to-me type," I retort back.

"I did not sulk," he practically growls. "I was just furious. I told her not to—" he starts but then stops abruptly. "Never mind," he says as an afterthought. "It doesn't matter."

I raise an eyebrow. What was he going to say? I wait for a while, thinking that he might continue but he doesn't. All I hear is the sound of the crickets chirping and other bugs buzzing around.

"Hey Natsume," I start as the seconds tick by, "Aoi isn't 16 is she?"

I look at him to see that his eyes are closed.

"She isn't," he tells me with his jaw clenched tight.

"Then why—?"

His eyes flash open and he regards me coldly. "Stay out of this,_Sakura_."

I don't know why but the way he says my surname completely shuts me up. I knew that any more questions on this topic were clearly not welcome and I'd be an idiot if I didn't understand what he had just said. So I did the only other thing that I could possibly have done.

I leant back against the trunk of the tree and shut my eyes.

And immediately sleep engulfed me.

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><p>Has anyone seen the The Hunger Games yet? Because if you have, I'm officially jealous. I can't watch it now (Grr exams) and I have to wait for like three more days to do so :(<p>

On to another issue. Would anyone here like to beta this story? I really don't have that much time on my hands to re-check for spelling/grammar mistakes— I mean, of course I do edit my work but there are always some things I miss. Besides, I think that having a beta will be good for me. Since I don't know how to actually get one, I'm just saying this in my author's note. Smart, eh? ;)

If you're interested, please contact me by sending a P.M or something. Or you can email me at carolle royale at yahoo dot com (no spaces)

How about a review for the Hunger Games sake? ;)

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><p><em>Carolle Royale<em>

_P.S Please check out the poll on my profile. It's important. Thanks! :)_


	10. Hierarchal Classifications

**Disclaimer : All recognizable characters belong to Tachibana Higuchi and the 'Games' part of this story belongs to Suzzane Collins. But this story is mine! =)**

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><p><strong>A N :** Sorry for the late update! BUT I made this chapter pretty long! Definitely more than five thousand words :) Also, I'd like to give a very big thanks to all those who've put this story onto their alerts/favs. Seriously, I'm actually surprised so many people read this story! Thanks! I'd love to hear what you guys think about this story :) Anyways, sit back and enjoy reading! :)

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><p><strong>The Alice Games<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 10<strong>:_Hierarchal Classifications_

**~(*)~**

The first thought that pops into my head when my eyes flutter open is that my bed is definitely nowhere near being soft and comfortable and that the curtains in the room don't do much to block out the powerful rays of the sun. But after a couple of seconds I notice another body beside mine and that's when I realize that I'm most definitely not in bed. At least, that's what I think. I know I'd never be in bed with anyone else, not until I'm twenty or something, that's for sure.

I groan slightly as I move my left leg— which for some reason has become very numb and after I'm sure the blood is back in it, I allow myself to take in my surroundings.

I'm right.

_Of course_I'm not in bed. I'm far from that.

I'm in a stupid tree.

With Natsume right beside me.

I lick my lips consciously, highly aware of the fact that they are dry. My tongue feels like I've been gulping down bags of soot and my stomach is growling furiously. I glare up at the sun which causes me to squint against the powerful beam of light. The sky is clear, spotless really. I can't see a single cloud.

Yesterday's events flood through my brain and I resist the urge to bang my head against the trunk of the tree. Really, just a week ago, I would've never even have_thought_about the idea of being out in the forests, forget about spending a whole night in one. It seems so unlike me. Perhaps this is normal here, but back at home this kind of thing was never even considered. We've all been told not to even_think _about trying to escape because apparently we've all got some sort of tracker in our body which allows the President to know where we are and if we are out of bounds or anything.

But that must be totally bogus, because if there really are trackers in every Alice's body, then why have the District 5 people not been caught? I'm pretty sure Natsume has been out here a couple of times before. How else did he learn to climb a tree? There are hardly any trees in the District so this seems to be the only explanation.

My thoughts then drift to his sister, Aoi. Was what she said true? It must be, otherwise why would she risk telling me? But surely there has to be some logical explanation. Uncle can't just be ...dead. That's not possible. It simply isn't. I bite my lips as I think about the possible ways by which they can kill him. A bullet to the head seems like the best option, it's quick and not that painful.

I look past the trees and notice mountains in the distance. I've never seen mountains before, so that just takes my breath away. They're so unlike buildings or anything else I've seen. They're so tall and so majestic and so...beautiful.

"_Beyond the mountains of the East lays the greatest place of them all, The Alice City."_

The words echo inside my brain like it's some sort of song or something and I find myself swinging my legs off the branch I'm currently seated on and sliding down onto the next one. Within a couple of minutes, I'm at the foot of the tree. It isn't as hard as I thought it'd be- climbing down the tree I mean. Well thank god I'll never have to climb one ever again. At least I have some reassurance of tree free nights.

I stretch my legs and marvel at how weird they feel. I lift my head up and I see that the mountains are still visible from where I'm standing. A slow grin flits across my face. Since the President and the rest of the council haven't tracked us down yet maybe I can walk—

"Why the hell are you grinning?"

I let out a small yelp at the sound and twirl around only to see that Natsume has climbed down the tree as well. I have no clue when he woke up. Furthermore I'm astounded by the fact that I hadn't heard him while he was climbing down the tree. I made a lot of noise while doing so.

But then again, he's probably had practice at this.

Jerk.

"Is it a crime to grin?"

He shrugs impassively. "I don't see why you're so happy when we're clearly miles away from the Academy."

Ah. He does have a point there.

"You're very smart, aren't you?" I say sarcastically.

He shrugs once again. "Yes, I've been told that on many occasions. I don't blame you for envying me."

"Envy you?" I scoff. "Not in a million yea—"

"Shut up," he mutters lowly, clearly not in a good mood. "Do you want to stand here all day? We've got a lot of walking to do."

I cross my arms across my chest and make a show of walking in the direction of the mountains. "Right after you," I growl.

He smirks. "You're going the wrong way."

Dammit.

**~(*)~**

It seems like some sort of never ending cycle. I say something, walk, Natsume grunts, walk, I get tired, walk, I try to make conversation, walk, Natsume makes a scathing remark, walk, I get tired, walk, I say something, walk, no reply, walk, walk and walk.

It's like that's the story of my life or something (it's been so since yesterday) and there's nothing I can do to change it. Well I guess I can just drop down and refuse to walk any further but I don't think that'll stop Natsume from going to the Academy. I don't think he cares whether I come or not and I bet he'd rather I just sit on a rock or something and stop trailing behind him.

Too bad he's not going to get what he wants.

Because even though I'm dead tired (walking for hours straight without a break tends to do this to a person) I'm not going to just sit it out and wait till I die. So I do the most advisable thing in my situation.

I walk.

I think it's been at least three or four hours since we've been walking as the sun is straight above my head now, meaning that it's probably about twelve 'o'clock. We shouldn't have to walk any longer, because if I recall, we didn't walk that much yesterday, just a couple of hours.

But after another hour of treading through the silent forest, I'm sure that there's something wrong. I don't know...but this part of the forest...it doesn't seem right. Or maybe that's just me acting all delusional due to my extreme thirst. I can't remember the last time I drank water; it seems like a billion years ago. All I know is that I won't be able to walk any further if I don't get some water into my system soon.

Another hour passes and I can't take it any longer. My knees give out and I collapse on the hard forest floor.

Natsume hears this and he turns his head over his shoulder to glance at me. "What's wrong?"

"Wa...wat...water..." I manage to gasp out as I clutch my throat in vain.

"We're almost at a stream. We just have to walk a little further," Natsume tells me as he walks over to where I am.

I shake my head. "No...I can't walk." The words tumble out of my mouth in anguish.

Natsume sighs. "But you'll have to if you want water."

I stare at the dirt around me and groan. My throat is now basically screaming for water and just the mention of it make my mouth water—if that's even possible right now. I'm sure most of the water in my body has evaporated.

"Then I'll just sit here and die of dehydration," I manage to croak out.

I see Natsume roll his eyes and mutter something under his breath. "Stupid girl," he shakes his head and then bends down and scoops me into his arms.

"Hey!" I let out a protest as he lifts me up as if I'm weightless. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm taking you to the water," he responds, simply like it's absolutely normal for him to pick me up like this as if I don't weigh a single pound. "Since you can't seem to walk."

"Bu...but I can walk!" I protest once more. "Put me down!"

"Oh please," he scoffs. "You collapsed. You clearly cannot walk."

"Well just put me down!"

He rolls his eyes. "And leave you to die due to lack of water? I think not."

I grit my teeth and close my eyes as Natsume continues to walk. After a couple of minutes, he puts me down and mutters a 'we're here'. I allow myself to open my eyes and see a small stream tricking out under a large rock.

Immediately I'm on my knees, scooping the water into my hands and drinking thirstily. I don't care that's it's not been treated with iodine or whatever, it still seems very fresh. My mouth tingles when the first drop enters my mouth and I relish the moment. Drinking water has never felt this good.

After taking generous gulps of water I close my eyes and sigh with content.

"You seem a hell lot of better," Natsume says, amusement dancing in his eyes. "In fact, I think you were on the verge of having an orgasm or something."

I stick out my now completely moist tongue at him. "Aren't you thirsty?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I've been trained to live without water for a couple of days. This is hardly anything."

I stare at him in awe. Trained to live without water? That seems a little too extreme. But then again, it does make sense if he ever gets his name picked during the reaping or volunteers.

I shudder.

_Volunteer._

Who in their right mind would want to be a Tribute in the Games willingly?

The Career Tributes, that's who. I keep forgetting where I am and who I'm with. This boy could definitely kill me with one fling of his hand if he wanted to.

But thank god he doesn't need to.

"How long can you stay without it?" I ask as I take another sip of the water. Too much water couldn't possibly be bad for you. It's just water after all.

He narrows his ruby eyes at me as if he's trying to figure out why I'm asking him the question or something. I don't get what's so suspicious. My question is purely innocent.

"Four days," he says flatly.

"Four?" My eyes widen with disbelief. Is that even possible?

"Well of course I'd experience terrible side-effects, but yes. Four days," he says in the same flat tone.

"And without food?"

He looks past me and stares at something in the distance. I notice that his ruby eyes darken minutely as he decides whether or not he should divulge that little bit of information to me. But I guess he decides that it wouldn't do any harm if I knew. It's not like I'd ever use it against him.

"A week," His eyes are still glued to something behind me. "I can survive for a week."

I nod. I had been expecting something like that. "You should drink some water." I say as I brush off the dirt on my pants and proceed to get up from my crouched position. "It'll give you energy."

Wordlessly, he stops staring at whatever it was he was staring at and bends down to cup some water in his hands. After drinking for a couple of seconds he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Can you walk? Or do I have to carry you?" He asks as a small smirk forms on his lips.

I notice that there's a small droplet of water near his jaw and I scowl. "I'm fine and dandy, thank you very much."

"As you say."

**~(*)~**

"Jesus," I moan out as Natsume and I continue our superduperamazing stroll in the forest. "I'm so damn hungry!"

Natsume merely grunts.

"I swear, I could eat just about anything right now!"

"I don't tolerate cannibalism. Sorry," He says crisply as he kicks a random pebble out of his way.

I smack his arm. "I'm not a cannibal, retard," I hiss out. Seriously, how can he even think that? It's so disgusting and inhumane!

"You said anything."

"I was speaking figuratively."

He doesn't say anything after that and we walk in silence for a couple of minutes. But randomly one minute Natsume turns around and heads off in another direction.

I remember the last time he went off like that and I don't want to have to repeat all of_that_again.

So obviously, I follow him.

"What are you doing?" I call out to him seeing that he's now a good distance away from me. "Are we lost?"

As I catch up to him, I notice that he's stopped by a couple of bushes.

"What are you doing?" I ask again.

"Picking berries."

Berries?

Oh.

_Oh._

Berries from the bushes.

What a smart lad he is— not that I'll ever tell him that. It'll inflate his already over-sized ego even more.

"How do you know that they're not poisonous?" I ask him. Uncle had always warned me about berries and how a few were so poisonous that you'd die the second you put one in your mouth.

Natsume gives me a knowing look and I immediately feel stupid for even asking.

Training.

_Of course._

He gathers a couple dozen berries and hands me a few. I still eye them with suspicion written clearly on my face.

"Oh for fuck's sake. They're not poisonous," Natsume pops a few into his mouth. "See?"

I make a face but I still wait till he's done chewing and has swallowed the berries. My stomach growls furiously and I reluctantly put one into my mouth.

I feel his gaze on me as I chew the berry for a couple of seconds.

Then I swallow.

And wait for the impact (that is death) to hit me.

But nothing does.

Natsume grins triumphantly and pops more berries into his mouth. I sigh with relief and my stomach ceases the growling as I eat the rest of the berries.

"Mhmm," I lick my lips and head over to the bush to pick out more berries. "These are pretty good."

"Don't eat so much," Natsume swats my hand away from the bush.

"Hey!" I let out a protest as a few of the berries I picked from the bush drop down onto the ground. "I'm still hungry!"

"Well sorry," he responds but he doesn't sound sorry at all. "It's not good to fill your stomach with just those berries."

I let out a grunt. "And that's because?"

He rolls his eyes at me. "Too much of anything isn't good."

"Yeah, yeah," I say blithely. "So how long before we reach the Academy?"

Natsume 's lips turn up slightly. "We're nearly there."

I let out a sigh of relief.

Thank god.

**~(*)~**

He was right. We were nearly there. With another twenty minutes of walking, I could see the outline of the Academy. Strangely for some unfathomable reason, the hole Natsume made was still there.

Either Reo knew that Natsume had made it to help me get into the Forest or he and everyone else hadn't noticed. I bet it's not the latter. The people here seem way too smart to not notice something as big as that.

"Where are you going?" I ask Natsume who's heading in another direction, not towards the main entrance of the Academy.

Natsume shrugs. "Somewhere."

"But shouldn't you come back to the Academy?"

"No."

"Bu—"

"Who's Tsubasa?" He asks randomly, cutting me off mid-word. I widen my eyes and gape at him. What the hell? How does he know Tsubasa?

"You said his name while you were sleeping," Natsume offers as an explanation as to how he knows that name.

Oh.

Ah.

I open my mouth and then close it.

Natsume notices that and raises an eyebrow. "Is he your boyfriend?"

I snort at the audacity of that. "No," I say while I shake my head. "He's just a friend of mine."

Natsume narrows his eyes slightly like he doesn't believe me or something but then dismisses it. "Whatever. See you around." And with that, he turns his back on me and starts off to God knows where.

"Hey!" I call out to him. "Don't wander off into the forest! I won't be able to save your sorry ass if you decide to wrestle with wild animals!"

He glares at me and I can tell that he's trying very hard not to say something sarcastic back at me. Instead he just says, "You might want to give that bear tooth to Reo. You're already over-due."

I twitch slightly. I'm not even going to ask how he knew. He sees my uneasiness and smirks. "Have fun, polka."

This time I don't stop him when he leaves. Instead I feel for my pocket to make sure that the_precious_item is still there. When I feel something pointy in my pocket, I immediately know that I have the thing so I let a small smile of relief spread across my face.

I'm going to get ranked soon.

I know Reo said that if I didn't come back by nightfall, he'd assume that I'm dead. But I'm not dead and I'm back so I hope he does give me a rank. I swear, I will get so bloody pissed if he doesn't. All this shit will have been for no use then!

I feel my pocket one more time just to check that it's still there (who knows, someone here could've stolen it from right under my nose) and then I head over to the main entrance. Surprisingly there isn't anyone there so I know that I'm in luck. It takes me almost half an hour to find Reo's office. Just when I'm about to knock on his door, I hear the sound of muffled voices from inside.

"What are you trying to insinuate?" I hear Reo's lazy drawl.

"I think you know," some other man in the room says. I don't know why, but something feels wrong.

"I'm sorry," Reo quips. "I do not."

I hear the other man heave a sigh. "You'll get impeached. Just you wait."

I hear Reo laugh. "I hardly think so."

"Well you'll see when the time comes."

"Sure."

I think then the other man whispers something because I hear Reo let out an indignant yell. "Get out!" I hear him practically shout.

The other man chuckles. "With pleasure,_Headmaster_."

I quickly move away from the door and back down the corridor. Just when I'm at the corner, Reo's door bursts open and a very tall man struts out. Unfortunately for me, he doesn't walk to the other side of the corridor, he walks exactly where I'm standing. He's wearing a large black coat with black pants. His hair, from what I can tell, is black as well. Everything about this man is black and on his face, he's wearing a black mask. Even if he saw me, he makes no indication that he did. He just struts down the corridor, his black shoes clicking in the process.

I stare after the odd man. He really must be something to threaten Reo like that. I shrug my shoulders, I don't know whether it's a good thing that Reo feels threatened by someone or if it's a bad thing. That man must be pretty insane if someone as psychotic as Reo feels threatened by him.

I walk over to his door and knock on it. There's no answer, just silence. After waiting for a few more seconds, I knock again. This time there's an answer.

"Come in."

I open the door to see Reo drinking wine. (It's red in colour so I'm guessing it's wine. I highly doubt that Reo would drink Cranberry Juice. He just doesn't seem like the cranberry- juice -drinking -type of guy.) He gives a lopsided smile when he sees me. "Ah!" he says rather giddily, "So you're back from the dead, is it?"

I frown slightly. "I was never dead."

"Oh, is that so?" Reo asks as he pours himself some more wine. "Do you want any?" He offers it to me, but I shake my head. It's not legal for me to drink alcohol, surely he must know that. "Shame," he says and takes a generous sip from his glass. "It's excellent really, great flavour."

I reach inside my pocket and place the tooth on Reo's desk . "I got you the bear tooth, just like you asked."

Reo cocks his head to one side. "Bear tooth? Why in the world would I ask you for that?"

"You did!" I nearly shout, "You asked me to get the bear tooth!"

"I don't recall."

I feel kind of ashamed to say this, but I actually stomp my feet with annoyance. "You did! Stop lying!"

A smirk flits across Reo's face. "My, can't take a joke can you?" He takes another sip of wine and places the glass on the table. Then he leans over the desk and picks up the bear tooth and inspects it. His fingers glide over the thing a couple of times before he looks back up at me. "So you got the bear tooth. Good job." He slips the thing inside his pocket.

Good job? That's all I get? "What about my rank?" I ask.

He shrugs. "You were supposed to come yesterday."

"But you never said that you wouldn't give me a rank if I didn't come yesterday!" I spurt out, "And I did come!"

Reo lets out a small sigh. "Okay fine, since you're begging me to give you a rank, I'll be nice and I'll give you one."

Begging? I'm just merely stating my rights!

"Hmm...how does 23 sound to you?" Reo asks slyly knowing fairly well that our deal was that I'd be in the top 10.

"Not good enough," I say while I tap my foot on the floor. I'm amazed at how controlled my voice sounds. I would've been yelling my head off normally. This is a nice change.

Reo laughs. "Fine. I'll make you rank 7."

I nod, my face lighting up with a smile. 7! Yes!

"Here," Reo tosses me a key. "That's for your new room."

I catch the key and twirl it around my fingers. They key is pretty heavy, I notice and it's in the shape of a 7. I grin to myself. Maybe this place wouldn't be that bad now that I've been ranked. 7 is actually pretty good, I can't believe I actually got in the top 10!

"Enjoy it while it lasts," Reo sends me a wink. "Trust me, it seems perfect now...but in a couple of days...you'll see."

I shrug my shoulders. I'm number 7. Things really can't go downhill from here. I mean, I've earned it (Reo doesn't need to know that Natsume was the one who got the tooth). Plus I'll never have to be a tribute in the Games since being in the Top 10 gives me a choice, unlike the rest of the students.

I smile once more. I think I'll have a bit of fun in D5 from now on.

**~(*)~**

It's been a week since I've gotten my rank and to be truthful this place is_hell._In fact, I think this place is even_worse_than hell! At least in hell, you don't have to learn how to do different kicks nor do you have to do crunches and jog for an hour every single morning. In hell you don't have to learn about basic survival skills, because hello, you're already dead! In hell you don't have to attend classes with a bunch of crazy warriors and more importantly in hell you don't have to listen to a psychotic principal (because hell has no schools).

I don't even know why I have to undergo such intense training! I mean, it's not like I'm ever going to be a tribute, so why even bother? I told that to the gym instructor (I think her name is Reni?) at which she spazzed and took me to Reo. I had to listen to his stupid lecture for a whole hour when the main point was: You will have to train your ass off no matter what and you_will_like it.

He can't make me_like_the training. He just can't. Sure he can force me to go to class (I skipped one once and I lost my dessert privilege. What a low blow) but he can' t force me to like it.

If only this training thing was the_only_issue.

When I got my rank, I hadn't realized that I'd sort of be kicking out the person who was 7 before me. At first I thought that rank number 7 would become 8, you know? And 8 would become 9 and so on. But here in this stupid school, since I took rank 7, the girl who was originally rank 7 became rank 25.

I_know_.

I honestly hadn't known that! I only found out at lunch one day while I was sitting with Nobara (thank the lord there is one nice soul in this place!). There I was, munching on a taco as innocent as ever—more like dead tired really, I had just come back from archery class (I'm shit at archery) and I had lessons on how to handle/throw a dagger (which surprisingly wasn't that bad!) prior to that so my arms were aching.

Nobara normally ate in silence and mostly just listened to me speaking and occasionally said a few words once in a while. I'm fine with that; it's quite nice to have a friend who's a good listener. So, I think I was telling her about Mr. Weird Chin, the archery teacher (I don't know his name) and how he actually had a_hole_in his chin when a carrot hit my nose.

I let out a small shriek and looked around the cafeteria in search of the culprit to see a whole posse of girls and boys (well to be exact, there were 4 boys and 2 girls) glaring at me with their hands folded across their chests.

Just by looking at them, I knew that they were the ones who'd thrown the carrot at me. "What did you do that for?" I demanded as I rubbed my now sore nose. It's funny how a mere carrot when thrown with full force can damage someone. I really ought to try that out sometime.

A girl with pin straight blonde hair (which immediately made me jealous, I've always wanted straight hair! Instead I'm cursed with stupid waves) narrowed her blue eye-lined eyes at me dangerously. "You," she breathed menacingly as she stepped forward, "You're the little whore who took my place!"

I blinked. See, at that time I hadn't known how_bad_her situation had become because of me. "I'm sorry? I don't know what you're talking about."

"The hell you don't know!" She practically yelled as she stepped right in front of me, "What's that number on your collar?"

"It's a 7, can't you see?" I replied as I frowned. This girl was interrupting my lunch.

The girl let out a hiss and actually lunged at me, grabbing my collar. "You bitch! You fuckin' bitch! You stole my place!"

I jerked back when her hands went for my throat and swatted them away. "Woah!" I exclaimed, "Stop!"

"Don't tell me to stop! You little fuckin' whore, I swear when you're alone I'll tear you to pieces and—"

"Kiki," a boy from behind her who I recognized to be Rui placed a hand on her shoulder. "Stop. Not now."

"Oh shut up Rui!" Hayate exclaimed, "The show was just getting started!"

"Ignore Hayate," some other boy said, "There's no point in talking to bottom feeders."

By bottom feeders I assume he meant me and Nobara, which is actually quite ironic seeing how both Nobara and I are placed in the top 10.

The girl, Kiki took in a deep breath. She let go of her grip on my throat and backed away. "Just watch out transferee. I'll get back my place soon enough. And you'll be the one stuck at 25," she said, her voice hard and with that she and the rest of her gang sauntered away from our table.

I let out a groan as I pushed away my plate. This definitely wasn't good.

"Are you okay, Mikan?" Nobara asked me, her eyes showing signs of concern.

I nodded my head. "Yeah. Just don't feel like eating."

Nobara seemed to understand. "Here," she said handing me her smoothie. "Drink this. You'll like it."

I took her smoothie and then proceeded to take a small sip. She was right. I did like it. It tasted like strawberries. As I drank the smoothie, I let my eyes roam around the cafeteria in search of Kiki and her group. They were nowhere to be seen. Instead I spotted Natsume eating lunch with a little kid.

"Who's Natsume sitting with?" I asked Nobara. She followed my gaze and let out a small smile.

"That's Youichi," she informed me while taking a bite of her lasagna. "That kid is always with Natsume. Thinks of him as an older brother."

My eyes were still on their table when she said that and I saw Natsume reach out to ruffle Youichi's hair. It was an affectionate gesture, something that older siblings would do to their younger ones. I smiled. It was nice seeing Natsume like that. Like he cared about at least one other person in this place.

This is why the past week has been hell- no, not the Natsume caring about Youichi part- just everything else. It's like all the teachers are out to get me or something and to top it all off, Kiki and her gang seem to be bent upon injuring me as much as possible. Sadly for me, they're in most of my classes and for obvious reasons one of them always volunteers to be my partner. Which, of course, makes it easier for them to beat the hell out of me, seeing as how I lack all the basic years of training they've had.

My entire left arm is covered in bruises and I grimace as I peel off my shirt and look into the mirror. I've started developing muscles, something which I thought I'd never get. I've always been somewhat delicate and I never participated in that many physical activities. The only thing I was remotely good at was chucking paper balls at Koko's head, which I hardly think is of any use.

I groan slightly and remove all my clothes and head into the shower. Being in the top 10 has great advantages- sure I have people who basically want to kill me and stuff (okay not_kill_, per se, but they want me to be ranked lower) but I have an amazing suite. Seriously, it's like paradise. The bed is gigantic and there's even a mini-fridge in my room! There's also a TV, but there are hardly any good channels on that. Most of them just replay the Games and stuff which is not something I'd want to see. It's bad enough that I had to see them live so there's no way I'm going to watch the re-runs. There's also a whole closet full of clothes my size and various shoes and accessories. The bathroom has a Jacuzzi and a shower. I like the shower better because for some weird reason I have a strange feeling that I'll fall asleep in the Jacuzzi and drown. Hey, it could happen.

I let out a sigh as I step into the shower, the hot water relaxing my muscles. I move over to get the shampoo bottle and wash my hair. I take in a deep breath and close my eyes. The aroma of the shampoo soothes me; it's a mixture between citrus and lime. As I rinse the shampoo out of my hair, I hear the bell ringing. I decide to ignore it since I'm in the shower and all. But it rings a couple times more. I scowl slightly as I switch off the tap and step out of the warm shower. Immediately, I'm welcomed by a gust of cold air which causes me to shiver. I pull on my bathrobe and tie it around my waist.

The bell rings once more.

"Coming!" I yell as I step into my slippers. Damn, this person has no patience!

I walk over to the door and ring it open only to see Miyaki dressed in a gown. Really. She's dressed in a_gown._A flowy green gown, and even though I hate to admit it, she looks good.

She eyes me in the bathrobe critically. "You're still taking a shower?"

I roll my eyes. "I was, before you so rudely interrupted me."

She smiles. "It's a good thing I did, isn't it? Now get dressed. We have to go to the ceremony."

"Ceremony?" I ask, totally confused. "No one told me that there was a ceremony today."

She shrugs. "Well I'm telling you now. Just wear a dress. I'll be waiting here."

Now I shrug and head inside my suite. I pull on the first dress I see which happens to be a cute blue sun dress. I don't bother changing it. So what if it's night? That shouldn't mean I can't wear a sun dress. I dry my hair with the hairdryer and put on a hair band to keep it in place. Then I search for the appropriate shoes to wear. I can wear heels, but I prefer flats so I pick out blue flats that match my dress. I don't bother with accessories aside from a small purse and then I walk over to where Miyaki is standing.

She raises an eyebrow when she sees my dress. "A sundress?"

I shrug. "Why not?"

She shakes her head, "Okay, let's get going, shall we?"

I nod and then proceed to lock the door behind me. I slip the key into my purse and follow Miyaki.

If I had known what was in store for me, I don't think I would've ever gotten out of the shower.

**~(*)~**

My body freezes and my blood starts racing when I see the building I'm about to enter.

This is not possible.

It just_can't_be.

Why am I so dressed up for this? Why is everybody so dressed up for this? I really don't understand. I truly don't.

"Why are we at The Chopper?" I ask Miyaki meekly as I eye the huge guillotine in the courtyard (which is in the middle of the building). I feel a chill run down my spine.

Miyaki sends me a grin. "I told you, we're here for a ceremony."

"A head-cutting ceremony?" I hiss out in a low voice. "This is crazy!"

Miyaki shrugs. "Just go and help yourself to the appetizers." she points at a counter a few feet away which is swamped by people. "Then go inside the Chopper and grab a seat in the amphitheatre."

I send her a glare before I head on my way. Everyone is dressed up, I notice. It seems as if the whole District is here, as there are adults as well as teenagers and younger children. Most of the younger children have panicked expressions on their faces, as if something bad is about to happen to them. I walk over to the food counter, grab a plate and fill it up with pita bread and hummus.

I feel someone tap my shoulder and I nearly drop the pita bread which is halfway to my mouth on the floor. I let out a small yelp.

A small giggle reaches my ear.

I frown as I recognize the owner of the giggle. "Jesus, Nobara. Did you want me to drop that?"

Nobara gives me an impish grin. "I think so."

I send her a glare before I put the pita bread into my mouth. "Nice dress," I tell her.

She looks down at the dress she's wearing self-consciously. It_is_nice. She's wearing a cute pink mini-dress with stockings underneath and nice pumps. She's even straightened her hair. "Yours too."

"Want some?" I ask as I nod to the pita bread. "The hummus is fantastic."

She nods her head. "I simply can't eat during this occasion. Just doesn't feel right."

I stop. "Doesn't feel right? What exactly is this for?"

Exactly at that minute, I hear Reo's voice echoing through the hall. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please assemble at the amphitheatre as tonight's ceremony is going to commence in a few minutes."

Nobara frowns. "Come on, we have to go." She pulls me towards the amphitheatre.

The amphitheatre is basically in the same place as the guillotine. It's actually centered around the guillotine so that everyone sitting on the steps can get a clear view of it. In front of the guillotine there's a podium which I guess is meant for the be-header. In this case, Reo is standing on the podium with a mike in his hand and there's a bowl of chits placed on a table right in front of him.

He smiles when he sees that all the seats are nearly taken. "Welcome! Welcome! To District 5's Annual Humana Sacrificium!"

It doesn't take a smart person to understand the meaning behind that. I gape at Nobara. "Is this for real?" I whisper to her.

She nods her head sadly. "Yes."

"As you all know, the Games are just around the corner. Which means that the reaping shall be soon. As our District is one full of warriors, every year we have one young lad who bravely offers his life for our District's prosperity!"

There's a round of applause to that which shocks me to no end. How can the people actually clap for this? Their own child may be at risk here!

"I wonder who the lucky lad is this year," Reo says cheerfully into the mike as he places his hand into the bowl. He grabs a chit at random and carefully opens it. "And the brave young man is Youichi Hijiri!"

I hear Nobara let out a gasp. I'm just as shocked as she is. Is it the same boy that Natsume was sitting with at lunch? One look at Nobara's face tells me that it is. There's a string of murmurs going around and I see someone push Youichi up to the podium. Surprisingly, his expression is blank. Like he's already accepted his death. He walks slowly up to the podium with his head bowed down.

"Ah, you must be Youcihi!" Reo claps him on the back. "It's nice to see you here! This is for the greater good."

I see Youichi nod his head.

"Would you like to say anything before you depart?" Reo asks as he holds the mike expectantly out to Youichi.

"Thank you," Youichi's voice, even though it's of a little kid's, is ice cold.

"Well said." Reo brings the mike back to his mouth, "Now here. Place this around your neck." I see him hand Youichi some sort of necklace or something though I can't see the pendant.

"What is that?" I ask Nobara.

"It's a bear tooth. It's meant to symbolise eternal power and victory." She informs me detachedly, her eyes sorrowful.

I freeze.

No.

_No!_

This...this can't be happening! Oh my god, I can't believe Reo told me to get that! If I had known that this is what it was for I wouldn't have gotten it! I would've taken a day in the Roaster instead!

I watch with horror as Youichi puts the necklace around his neck. He then walks over to the guillotine and doesn't even bat an eyelash when his head is put in the wooden frame under the blade.

"Thank you, Hijiri Youcihi," Reo says solemnly into the mike while a man behind him raises the rope.

And then the blade drops.

* * *

><p><em>Carolle Royale<em>


	11. The Quincidem

**Disclaimer Nope.**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I am SO sorry for the long wait! Really, I am! To make it up to you guys, I made this chapter extra long! I think it's probably about 9000 words or something. Read this chapter carefully because a lot of things happen in it. If your eyes hurt, take a break from reading! Or, get something to eat/drink!

I'd like to thank my awesome beta, **Annevader** for editing this chapter (and the previous ones) for me. Honestly, I was a bit scared to edit this chapter myself (since it's so long!) If you happen to be a ScorpiusxRose shipper (from the HP series) go check out her work! You won't regret it!

Also, I'd like to thank **Alexxis T. Swan** for helping me come up with the name 'The Quincidem.'

**Warning :** In the first chapter of this story I said that the story might get violent from the middle. Well, this chapter has a bit of violence in it. So that's why I have changed the rating of this story to '**M**'. It's only for the violence though, nothing else.

With that said, I hope you guys enjoy reading!

* * *

><p><strong>The Alice Games<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 11 :<strong>_The Quincidem_

When I was about four or around that, I remember watching the Games for the first time. I'd watched them before too, I'm sure, but it was only when I hit four that I realized what exactly I was seeing— children killing each other. I remember that I was horrified at the thought of being in the arena and I remember crying whenever a tribute was killed. There was this one tribute, a small girl, about the age of 12, I guess. She was one of the final people in the arena, there were only two others besides her. I wanted her to win, not only because she was small but because she was the only person in the arena who hadn't killed anyone else. She almost won, but another tribute, a bulky male from District 2, chopped her head off with a sword.

They showed the whole thing, how the boy grabbed her, how she struggled against his hold and then finally, how her head got detached from her body. There was blood...everywhere and her head...it was lying on the ground, far away from the rest of her.

I couldn't sleep properly for about three months after that. I got the same nightmare every single day; the tribute girl's head getting chopped off. For some reason, my brain didn't spare the gory details, and I'd wake up in the middle of the night screaming like a banshee.

Uncle would always dart into my room and would ask me what was wrong; he stopped asking me after a while since I always told him the exact same thing. He'd pat my back comfortingly and then rock me back to sleep.

I didn't watch the Games the next year. It's almost like a crime not to, but I got the chicken pox (thank god for that) during that time so I was excused from watching. Those Games only lasted for a mere two days because a girl from District 5 destroyed most of the Tributes with her Storm Alice. After that, the Game Makers changed the rule. One can only kill a maximum of three people with their Alice. If they kill more than that..the Game Makers will kill them.

So really, no one wants to do that, it's basically suicide.

In the 8th Games however, a boy cut off his own head with a dagger.

Unlike a sword, a dagger takes longer to penetrate the skin and muscles so his death was _very _slow and _very _painful.

And there was a _lot _of blood.

And I just _hate _the sight of so much blood on TV, so you can imagine what it's like in real life.

I can't even bear looking near the guillotine as it drops because I _know _that when I see his limp body and his head lying on the ground, I _will _fall terribly sick, and I'll probably end up crying as well, which is _not _good—not in this District at least. I hear muffled sobs coming from Nobara and I reach out to grab her hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

"Don't cry," I murmur, but it's hypocritical of me because I know that there are probably pools of tears in my own eyes, just itching to escape.

She rubs her eyes with her free hand and sniffs. "This happens every _year_," she manages to choke out, "and no one ever _cares_."

I look around the place and sure enough, Nobara's right. Nobody looks shaken or anything by what they've just witnessed. In fact, most of them seem pretty content with this whole situation and don't even seem to be bothered by the fact that a little boy has just been murdered.

But...what about Natsume? Surely he must be devastated. I crane my neck, trying to spot him, but I can't find him.

It truly is a cruel world.

Reo chooses that exact moment to start his stupid blabbering again. "Now, I'd like our honourable Mayor, Mr. Takiwashi to say a few words!"

There's a polite round of applause from the crowd and then a pudgy little man with white hair wearing a suit which—may I add—makes his stomach bulge out, walks onto the podium.

"Thank you everyone for being here tonight." His voice is raspy, like he's a chain smoker or something. His eyes dart across the audience and for the faintest second, they land on me. I wince slightly when his green eyes bore into mine and almost immediately, he looks away in another direction. I feel something creep up my spine; this certainly cannot be any good. "We've all gathered here for a reason," Mayor Takiwashi pauses, I guess for a dramatic effect, "for victory," he concludes.

There's a round of applause and whooping from the crowd. Takiwashi smiles, the response he received seems to please him. "Every year, we send two of our best to compete in the Games," he drawls into the mike, "and fortunately for us, one of them always returns home." He pauses again, but this time it's not meant to be dramatic—well I guess it isn't. He clasps his hands together and continues speaking. "Being the most prosperous District in the country is hard. Yes, we've got plenty of luxuries but with that comes a great price." His toad green eyes flicker around the audience once more as if he's trying to scrutinize their reaction. "This past year has been pretty good to us. There have not been many bereavements and our connection with the Alice City has strengthened. We have also increased our export rate and our income has tripled tremendously. Our children have been trained rigorously and are ready to face their future if they are the chosen ones. All in all, we are the most flourishing District of Alicestansia and it won't be long before we're at par with the Alice City."

The second he finishes saying the last part of his speech, there are roars of approval from the crowd. Some people even give him a standing ovation and many others cheer appreciatively.

I register what he had just said.

_And it won't be long before we're at par with the Alice City._

He can't be serious, can he? Because what he just said could insinuate a rebellion.

Which is not good. Not good at all.

In fact, it's horrible.

I could get killed!

Oh god. I come all the way here, walk through the forest to get a stupid bear tooth (that ultimately is the death of a little boy)and then get killed myself because the District I now live in wants to be at par with the Alice City?

"Now, now," Takashi says into the mike, as he motions for everyone to calm down. "Settle down! I'm not quite finished yet."

That causes everyone to quiet down and stops my inner frantic emotions.

"It's time," Takashi says slowly, "for the President's Announcement."

Nobara sighs softly from beside me.

I give her a questioning look.

"It's nothing really," she whispers to me, "the President says the same thing every year."

I nod, mentally kicking myself for being stupid. There was a President's Announcement in D4 before the Games every year as well. I lean back in my seat and relax my muscles. This wasn't going to be that bad; I already know half of what is going to be shown. So leaning back into my seat, relaxed, I watch as Takashi brings out a remote like device and presses a button.

The screen behind him illuminates and the Alice City's logo flashes in front of us. There's a brief picture of the Alice City and all the Districts and then President Kuoniji starts speaking. He starts with Alicestansia's history and talks about the war. He talks about how rebellious we Alices were and how hard it was to control us. Then he mentions something about each and every District, their strengths and weaknesses. All in all, it's not something I've never heard before.

So suppressing a yawn, I shuffle a bit in my seat and then close my eyes.

_Youichi._

_Dead._

The poor kid. If only I had known...

Oh screw it. Even if I knew, was there anything I could've done about it? The chances of his name getting picked were close to nil- the odds truly were in his favour.

I wonder what they'll do to his body. Sometime during Takiwashi's speech, I had seen a few men carrying something away in a white bag (or was it a stretcher?).

I shudder.

They better have a proper funeral for him. It's the least they can do after..._that_.

"Mikan!" I hear Nobara hiss at me and poke my shoulder. "Open your eyes!"

My eyes flash open and I give her a questioning look. "What?" I ask.

She points to the screen in front of us. "He's giving some sort of special announcement," she informs me, her eyes a bit tense.

A special announcement?

I sit up straight in my seat and like everyone else in the amphitheatre; I watch the screen in front of me with interest. This is definitely something new.

"Yes. You heard me right; I have a special announcement this year." President Kuoniji's voice filters across the space and I see a superior smirk forming on his lips. "This year, 2012, is the year of the 15th Annual Alice Games. In other words, The Quincidem."

Everyone starts murmuring amongst themselves.

I furrow my eyebrows. The Quincidem? What in the world is that?

"Yes, yes, I know you're all dying to know what exactly the Quincidem is." President Kuoniji says as he smiles victoriously. "It's not like any other Alice Game that has been held before. Sure, the main objective remains the same, but there's a little twist. The Quincidem is bigger, bolder, and definitely much harder to win."

"Oh, no," Nobara whispers softly, her eyes wide.

I nudge her to keep quiet. Kuoniji is still speaking.

"The Quincidem will be held once every fifteen years," he continues swiftly," In honour of the creation of Alicestansia and to remind you all where you actually stand. Each and every Quincidem will have a different twist, the ideas of which will be placed in a bowl and will be drawn out by me." And randomly, out of nowhere, a bowl pops up next to Kuoniji. He raises a hand to indicate the bowl. "Are you all ready to know what the first ever Quincidem holds?" He pauses, supposedly waiting for our answer.

"Yes! Yes! We're ready!" Many people yell out in glee, not wanting to wait any longer. I guess they've probably forgotten the fact that Kuoniji cannot actually hear us seeing as how he's just a mere projection and all.

After a few seconds' pause, Kuoniji smiles. The remarkable timing of it kind of creeps me out. It's like he's actually here, standing in front of us, rather than on some screen. "Well, let's get going, shall we?" And with that he reaches into the bowl (it's perched upon a small table, how hadn't I seen that before?) and takes out a chit from it. He reads it swiftly and then another supercilious smirk forms on his lips.

"For the first ever Quincidem, the Districts of Alicestansia will have to send _double _the number of tributes," I hear someone from behind me gasp at that, "each of ages sixteen and eighteen only. No volunteering will be allowed for the Quincidem. Doing so will cause immediate expulsion and the District in fault will be charged. The winner, as usual, will get a cash prize of about 1 million yen and will bring their District many commodities." He gives us another big smile. "I'm certain that these Games will be _very _interesting." He chuckles, like he knows something important that we don't know."Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be _ever _in your favour." And with that last sentence, the screen flickers, and Kuoniji disappears from our sight.

Double the number of tributes.

Meaning, there will be twenty tributes instead of the normal ten in the arena.

"Oh no," Nobara whispers again but this time she sounds agonized. "No!"

I turn around in my seat to look at her. "What's wrong Nobara?"

She gives me a detached look. "I'm eighteen." She says, her voice surprisingly very hollow.

Eighteen.

Oh _crap_.

"It's okay Nobara," I immediately say and grab her hand. "There are a bunch of other eighteen year old girls out here! The odds won't be in your favour, don't worry!"

She gives me a weak smile. "I hope...wait," she gives me a sorrowful look. "You're sixteen."

I don't get what she means at first, which probably tells you something about how slow I am. But when the reality of what she said kicks in, I start panicking.

Sixteen.

I'm _sixteen_.

Oh _hell._

Oh _bloody _hell.

Why do the seventeen year olds get such a narrow escape? It's not fair! I mean, why only sixteen and eighteen year olds? What sense that does make?

I guess now isn't really the time to hate/envy all the seventeen-year olds here, but I can't help but glare at the girl sitting in front of me (I know she's seventeen, I heard her groan with disappointment after the announcement. Kind of twisted but this is District 5. Everything's the opposite). She doesn't know just how lucky she is. I mean sure, it's not as if I've been picked out as a tribute already but just that feeling that I _might _be one is enough to make me feel nauseated.

"I guess we'll just have to pray every day then," I say rather glumly. "Come on," I tug at Nobara's sleeve, "let's head back to the Academy."

She nods absentmindedly and the both of us, along with a few other students, rise from our seats and leave the courtyard and begin on our walk back to the Academy. The rest of the students stay back at the Chopper, doing God knows what with the remainder of the District 5 people. I don't get how they can even _stand _being there. The atmosphere around the place is simply dreadful.

The walk back to the Academy is a quiet one, as both of us have nothing to say. Because really, what _could _we say? I certainly can't make a joke out of this issue nor do I feel like mourning about it. All I feel is...

Oh drat.

I don't know _how _I feel.

Honestly, it's all just a big jumbled up mess.

A big, _big _jumbled up mess.

One minute I'm furious at Kuoniji for picking that chit, the next I'm horrified by what I've just witnessed—a little boy getting killed right before my eyes. And then I'm guilt ridden over the fact that_I_was the one who had delivered the bear tooth to Reo.

I bite my lips and continue thinking about all those things, not noticing when Nobara finally opens her mouth.

"Mikan?" She taps my shoulder, breaking me away from my thoughts, "Are you listening?"

I snap out of my reverie and give her a weak smile. "Sorry," I say. "What were you saying?"

"I'm heading back to my dorm," Nobara tells me, "Do you want to come?"

I shake my head. I don't want to go back to my dorm just yet. "I'll go later. I need some air."

She nods, not questioning me about my desire to 'get some air'. With a wave of her hand, Nobara turns away from me and heads inside the Academy. I watch as she goes through the doors and then when her figure disappears from my sight, I let out a sigh and let my feet take me wherever they want to go.

After a couple of minutes, I stop dead in my tracks. I don't know where I've come, its unfamiliar ground. It surprises me because I'm sure I've been to almost every single part of the Academy's grounds. (Because of the early morning jogging, you see).

Since it's rather dark, I can't tell exactly what's in front of me. It looks like it's some sort of wall, with green leaves all over it.

I blink.

_A labyrinth!_

It's a labyrinth!

But why would there be a labyrinth here? I take a few steps closer and then see that there's an entrance to the thing. On top of it there's a board which has something written on it. I train my eyes on it, trying to see what's written. After trying to decipher the words (without success) on the board for about a few minutes, I see a swirl of smoke coming from inside the maze.

My first instinct is to turn around and get the hell away from here. I almost do that too, but something stops me and instead of running back inside the Academy, I run inside the Labyrinth.

I know.

It's probably the most stupid thing that I could've done in my situation, because running into a labyrinth? That's basically suicide. There have been quite a few labyrinths in the Games and all of them were pretty nasty. Some extended themselves once a tribute entered, thus making it almost impossible for the tribute to exit the labyrinth.

I don't know why, but I just had some sort of feeling about the smoke. Like…what if some little kid was inside causing that? He'd die.

I don't want that.

I owe Youichi that much, at least.

So, I run inside the Labyrinth, not thinking about my actions. I swear it'll be the death of me someday. I should _think _before I do something; I brush that thought aside and follow the smoke, hoping that it'll lead me to whoever ignited it.

It doesn't take me long to reach the source of the flame, but of course when I reach the area, I'm panting like crazy.

And that's when I spot him.

He's standing at the junction of four different paths a few feet away with his back towards me. Even though I can't see his face, I know that it's him. No one else in the Academy can shoot fireballs from their palms.

I don't think anyone else in Alicestansia can do that.

"Are you trying to destroy this place?" I nearly yell as I see that he's thrown another fire ball at the wall. The whole thing is on fire and it's spreading pretty quickly because of the leaves and vines.

I don't know if he's heard me because he conjures up another ball of fire and blasts it at another wall.

I cough a bit, because of the smoke getting into my nose. "Hyuuga! Stop!"

He hears me this time.

"What," he growls, not bothering to turn around, "are you doing here?"

I walk closer to him, making sure that I stay as far away from the fire as possible. It won't be long before it spreads to the ground as well.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but we've got to get out of here," I say and then wave my hand, nullifying his Alice.

He turns around now, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "You think you're so fuckin' smart don't you? You and your stupid nullification. Save yourself, and get the fuck out of here. "And immediately he conjures up another fireball on his palm.

I roll my eyes as I nullify his Alice once more. When will this boy learn? "Seriously, your whole 'let's conjure-up-a-ball-of-fire-on-my-palm' thing is getting old."

He hisses when he sees that his precious fire is gone. "_You're _getting old."

"I know," I reply smoothly. "My birthday was this month."

He clenches his fists. "What the hell is your problem?" He asks, eyes ablaze. They're like him. His eyes, I mean.

Fiery.

"My problem is that you're trying to destroy this Labyrinth!"

He rolls his eyes at me. "This Labyrinth can't be destroyed. It's specially built for training."

"What do you mean?"

He gives me a patronizing look. "The fire. Can you see it now?"

I look behind him, at the wall he had been terrorizing before and surely enough the fire isn't there.

My eyes widen.

How is this even possible?

"It was built by an Alice from District 2," Natsume explains as he sees my awestruck expression. "Those who have elemental Alices, come here to practice. Satisfied?"

I shake my head and then cross my arms across my chest. "No."

He snorts. "Too bad for you." And then a fireball appears on his palm and he chucks it at the wall and stares at it, admiring his handiwork. Or, you know, in this case his Alice.

"I'm sorry about Youichi," I say suddenly, the words tumbling out of my mouth without my permission.

Natsume's back stiffens.

"I honestly hadn't known what that thing was for! I mean I thought Reo was just bored or something so he asked me to do that and I—"

"Shut _up_."

"—wouldn't have gone at all! Oh my gosh, I feel so—"

"I said, _shut up_!" Natsume yells, as he swirls around to face me. His eyes are blazing with anger and he the way he's glaring at me, makes me reel back in surprise.

I didn't know that he'd be _this _angry.

"Don't," he hisses with as much venom as he can muster, "say you're sorry. Because you're not. You didn't know him. Hell, you've never even talked to him! So just shut the _bloody _fuck up!"

Now I become furious. I can't believe he said that to me! Just because I didn't know the kid doesn't mean I can't be upset by what happened to him! "Well I unlike you, have empathy!" I exclaim, blood boiling in my veins. "I care about other people! Is it wrong for me to care about a little boy who has been _murdered _right before my own eyes? Is it wrong of me to feel _guilty_? Is it wrong for me to feel _remorse_?"

"But no one asked you to care," he snarls. "No one asked you to feel remorse nor did anyone ask you to feel guilty. Just get on with your life. He was nothing to you and you were nothing to him."

I gasp. He was nothing to me? The audacity! Unknowingly, I step closer to him and shove him so hard that he nearly tumbles down. "He was nothing to me? Are you flippin' kidding me? I'm the one who delivered that bear tooth to Reo! I basically delivered his life to that horrible man!"

Natsume seems a bit surprised by my random outburst but he regains his composure in a second or two. "You're forgetting one thing. _I'm _the one who killed that bear. I'm the one who got that bear tooth. So you can stick your prissy morals up your ass and take your goddamn empathy someplace else."

I stare at him with wide eyes.

_Shit._

Shitshithshitshit.

How did I forget that? _Natsume _was the one who actually got the tooth. Not me.

No wonder.

Oh my god.

"I'm so, so—"

"Save it. He says noxiously. "Didn't I tell you to take your stupid empathy someplace else?"

"I—"

"You might want to train harder over the next couple of days." He sneers at me with disdain clearly marking his features. "Your chances of getting selected are _quite _high."

I stand there like a fool, watching him retreat further into the Labyrinth.

_Your chances of getting selected are quite high._

I blink my eyes shut tightly.

I must not cry.

But it's in vain because I feel something moist trickle down my left cheek.

_Damn it._

* * *

><p>I hardly saw him during the next few days.<p>

Which is good.

More than good.

It's _fantastic._

After the Annual Humana Sacrificium, the teachers were bent upon giving us (the sixteen and eighteen year olds) as much training as possible.

If I thought the past few weeks were bad, this was definitely hell.

Training starts every morning at 4.30 and ends at around 8 in the evening. The only breaks we get are half an hour for breakfast and an hour for lunch. Other than that, we get two or three five minute breaks.

There's a special class for the usage of one's Alice. But since much can't be done with my Alice, I have to go for another hour of Archery.

It's complete torture.

I suck at Archery.

That's the only way to phrase it. I can't even say that I'm a little good because my arrow doesn't even hit the board. It lands about twenty feet away from it.

"Sakura!" Mr. Weird Chin (the archery teacher, I don't bother remembering his real name) yells at me when the last arrow I shoot narrowly misses his arm by an inch or two. "Were you trying to kill me?"

"Sorry sir!" I call out, as I take another arrow and line it up. I squint, trying to get the angle right and then tug. After a while, I release it.

I let out a groan.

The stupid thing has landed only one foot away from me.

Weird Chin shakes his head exasperatedly. "You'll get killed in a second if you get chosen."

I send him a glare. "I told you! Archery isn't my thing!"

"Isn't your thing?" He hollers at me, quite outraged by what I've just said. "Dear girl, the reaping is tonight! And you don't even know how to use a bow and arrow! What a disgrace it is to our District!"

I send him a sour look as I take another arrow from the pack. Sticking my tongue out in concentration, I load it into my bow. I take a deep breath and count.

One.

Two.

Three.

Leaving the breath I've been holding, I release the arrow and watch with bated breath as it actually hits the target. It doesn't hit the bulls-eye, of course, but the fact that I managed to hit it is a big thing.

I smile grimly.

So maybe I'm not completely rubbish at Archery after all. Still, I'd prefer dagger -throwing any day.

Weird Chin gapes at me, like he can't believe what he just saw.

"I'll see you at the reaping, sir," I say and give him a mock-salute.

He doesn't say anything, just nods absentmindedly.

I gather my things and head out of the Archery room.

Thank the lord that it's the last class of the day. Even though I may seem composed on the outside, my insides are squirming with worms.

The reaping is tonight.

Which means that I, along with seven other girls my age, may or may not be a Tribute in the Quincidem.

I let out a shaky breath as I make my way over to my dorm. I've still got a few hours left before the Reaping.

Unlike District 4, District 5 likes to hold its Reaping during the night. It's weird, I know, but at least we don't have to stand out in the hot sun.

The halls of the Academy are empty. Most of the students have been granted a leave so that they can spend their last (possibly) hours with their family.

But of course, being a district transferee, I don't have any family here.

My shoes echo across the empty halls, making a shiver run down my spine. For a reason unbeknownst to me, I quicken my pace.

When I'm about to turn around the corner, a hand suddenly clamps down on my mouth and someone drags me into an empty classroom.

I squirm under their hold, and start kicking my legs, but it's no use. This person is clearly stronger than me.

The door closes in front of me and then the person whirls me around so that I now face them.

My eyes widen when I see who's in front of me.

Kiki.

Oh _hell._

"Stop it, you little bitch," she hisses venomously as she grabs my hands and feet and ties them together with a rope. Then she pushes me down onto a chair and stuffs a handkerchief (or handkerchiefs?) into my mouth, and then secures it with black tape.

"How the mighty have fallen," she says softly as she stands right in front of me. "Did you really think that I'd let you take my place?"

I shake my head, having nothing else to do.

She snickers.

"Did you honestly think that with a mere month's training, you'd be able to win the Games?" She asks me with false sweetness in her voice.

I shake my head furiously.

She laughs again. "Did you really think that I'd let you live when you stole my rank?"

My eyes nearly fall out of their sockets.

What in the world is she saying?

She seems pleased by my expression. "That's right, dear. You're going to die. And _I'll _be the one killing you."

I gulp.

Oh, she can't be serious.

She just _can't _be.

But she is.

"Well," she says as she gets something out of her pocket, "you know what my Alice is right?"

I know what her Alice is.

Hell, _everyone _knows what her Alice is.

She smirks. "That's right," she says, even though I haven't said anything. "I have the Blood Manipulation Alice. I can easily kill anyone, all I have to do is burst their heart."

_My _heart nearly collapses all on its own.

"But since you have that stinking Nullification, my Alice won't work on you. But no worries!" She says cheerfully, "I'll kill you with this instead!" She pulls out a dagger from her back pocket and flashes it, grinning victoriously. "Nice thing, don't you think?"

I don't say anything.

Hell, I couldn't say anything even if I wanted to.

She shakes her head. "Silly me, you can't talk!"

Even in this kind of situation, I somehow manage to roll my eyes.

She sees this and then moves closer to me. "You have a habit of rolling your eyes a lot, don't you? Hm...I think...I think I'll start with them. Your eyes, I mean. It'll be nice to carve them out."

I gape at her. Was she honestly going to gouge my eyes out? I never thought that I'd die like this.

I shut them tightly. I want my last few seconds with my eyes alone. I do not want to see her stupid face.

She tilts her head. "Or you know, maybe I'll save your eyes for the last. I want you to watch what I'm going to do to you and you won't be able to do that with your eyes on the floor, now will you?"

She leans down so close that I can smell the perfume on her body.

It's a pleasant smell.

Unlike her.

"Open your eyes, Sakura." She whispers into my ears. "Watch me cut you into tiny little pieces."

I keep them closed.

"Open them!" She demands and pokes my left eyelid with her dagger. I wince slightly and my eyes start watering.

But I still don't open them.

"I said, open your eyes, goddammit!" She screams but it's futile. I still don't open them.

She lets out a hiss. "You won't open your eyes. Fine. But I'll make you open them!" And with that she plunges her dagger into the naked flesh of my arm, just a bit above my wrist.

I howl out in pain and my eyes open instantly, tears pouring out. She cut pretty deep and already, lots of blood is oozing out.

She grins at me like a psychotic maniac. "See!" Her eyes are wild. "I told you that I'd make you open your eyes!" She plunges the dagger into my skin once more. This time it digs deeper.

A scream erupts from my throat and I squirm in my seat, trying my best to get away from this insane girl.

She laughs at my struggles. "Sweetie, you think I'll let you get away? I've just started!" She removes the dagger from my left arm and then drives it into my right instead.

I throw my head back and yell out in agony. It's muffled against all the handkerchiefs in my mouth.

"No! No! Please stop!" I scream.

But she can't hear it properly.

"What's that?" She asks sweetly.

"Stop it please!"

"Oh, you want me to dig deeper, do you? Alright, I'll do that."

The next ten minutes went on like that.

I'd scream out in pain, and she'd just plunge her dagger deeper into my skin. Both of my arms were soaked in blood.

"I think I've had enough of your hands." She says after a while, "I'll go to your throat instead."

I shake my head, desperately trying to get her to stop. If she goes for my throat, I'll be dead within a minute. I'm sure of it.

"Now, now. You won't die right now. I want this to be slow and steady. So don't you worry."

Just when she raises the dagger, the door slams open.

I nearly sigh in relief.

_Thank god._

"What the fuck do you think you're doing Kiki?" The intruder demands as he enters the room.

Kiki moves away from me, her expression alarmed. But when she sees who it is, she relaxes.

"Just chillax, Nastume. It's just that District Transferee," she tells him, as she wipes the dagger with a cloth.

"What are you doing to her?" He asks, stepping further into the room.

"What does it look like?" She flips her hair back, "Do you want to join in too?"

"No!" Natsume growls out. "For Kami's sake, Kiki! You don't go around killing little girls!"

"She's not a little girl!" Kiki yells out. "She's bloody 16! And if I don't kill her now, she might take my place at the Games again!"

Natsume doesn't say anything. He just snaps his fingers and Kiki's clothes catch on fire.

She lets out a blood-curling scream. "What? What the hell! Natsume! Stop!"

"Go," he hisses.

Kiki gives him an incredulous look before dashing out of the room, her clothes still on fire.

I don't know what will happen to her.

And honestly speaking, I wouldn't mind if she burns.

Muttering profanities to himself, Natsume walks over to me. He pulls the tape out of my mouth and unties the ropes on my hands and legs.

"Christ," he says as he eyes the blood. "You're bleeding a lot."

"I know." I manage to croak out. Even though I hate him and vice versa, I've never been so happy to see anyone in my entire life.

"Where did she cut you?"

"Just my arms," I tell him. "It's alright. I'll just go to my dorm and fix it." I choke out as I get up from the chair. I try not to notice the pools of blood on it, but it's hard not to when there's so much.

"I'm going to my room," I somehow manage to say as I wobble towards the door. My mind feels blank. My arms feel numb.

He grabs my wrist, stopping me from moving any further. "You'll just be walking to your death if you do that."

"What?" I ask, flabbergasted.

"Kiki's not the only one who had plans to kill you."

I gulp visibly; my head starts to spin.

"How—?"

"I heard them planning this," he tells me, "Two of them are on your floor right now. They're waiting to ambush you."

I don't have to ask him who 'them' is because I already know.

'Them' is clearly Rui, Hayate, and those other boys and girls.

I knew they didn't like me, but I never thought they hated me so much that they'd try to kill me.

I nod meekly. "Okay."

"Follow me."

* * *

><p>Natsume's dorm is on the opposite side of the Academy from mine. Since we have to go in a totally different direction, it takes us about ten to fifteen minutes to get to his dorm.<p>

While we are walking, Natsume takes off his jacket and hands it to me. "You're bleeding all over the floor," is what he tells me.

And he's right.

I _am _bleeding all over the floor.

So I take his jacket without a word and slip it on. After walking/wobbling for a couple of minutes, I let out a groan. I can't walk properly. I need support.

Natsume sees this and frowns. "Lean on me," he says.

I do what I'm told and within a few minutes we're at his dorm. He fiddles his pocket for his key and then opens the door.

"Go inside the bathroom and wash yourself," Natsume tells me once we enter his dorm. "I'll go get the bandages."

I nod and head inside the bathroom which is right next to the entrance. I lock the door behind me and then stare at my reflection in the mirror.

Oh god.

I look _horrible._

In fact, horrible is an understatement. I look so bashed up. My face is fine, Kiki hadn't touched it, but still, it's sickeningly pale. I lift my hand up to the mirror and grimace.

If I thought the gash Natsume got when Reo made him cut his own arm was bad, this is about twenty times worse.

I let the tears fall down, not caring about them. It doesn't matter if I'm in this District, I'm pretty sure others would've cried if they had to go through what I did.

I bend over to reach the tap and then turn it. I watch as the water spurts out and then I scoop some into my hands and splash it over my face.

The cool water feels good on my skin, so I do it again. I reach out for the bar of soap which is next to the sink.

I wince.

The pain on my arms has increased. Sighing futilely to myself, I grab the bar of soap and use it to clean my face. After my face is clean, I move my arm so that it's under the tap.

At first when the water comes in contact with my skin, it starts burning. I close my eyes shut and grit my teeth. After a couple of seconds, the pain ceases. I carefully wash all the blood off. But it's sort of pointless. The wound keeps bleeding.

"Damn it," I growl as I bring my other hand to the tap. I do the same thing to it as I'd done to my previous arm. After washing the dried blood thoroughly with water, I look around the bathroom for towels. I see two on the rack near the shower. I walk over to it and grab the closest one and dab it on my wounds.

I wince slightly when I see the red blood stains on the white towel.

I hope Natsume doesn't mind.

I fling the towel into a basket near the sink and then walk to the mirror again and look at my reflection.

My Uncle would've freaked out if he could see me right now.

Without any warning, my knees buckle and I fall to the ground. Tears spring out of my eyes instantly. I fold my knees and place my head in between them.

She was going to kill me.

Kiki was about to _kill _me.

Oh my god. She was about to kill _me_! And she would've succeeded if Natsume hadn't come in.

_Kiki's not the only one who had plans to kill you._

A sob escapes my lips as Natsume's previous words flit through my head. She wasn't the only one...

Just then, I hear a soft knock on the bathroom door. "Are you done?" Natsume's voice asks from the other side.

I don't say anything, just shake my head. The fact that he can't see me escapes my mind. The tears come out more quickly now and my breathing hitches.

"Polka?" Natsume questions, "are you...alright?"

I almost scoff at that. Alright? How the hell can I be alright? That girl nearly killed me!

"Go away," I groan into my knees.

He's quiet for a minute.

My sobs continue.

"If you don't open the door within a minute, I'll break it down," he threatens.

"Break it then," I say bitterly as I lift my head up from my knees, "it's your loss, your bathroom will be door-less."

I see his shoes through the small slit under the door; he's tapping them impatiently.

"I'm going to count till ten and if you don't come out by then, I'm going to kick open this door," he threatens darkly.

I don't say anything.

"One..." he starts counting.

I sniff a bit and then stare up at the ceiling.

"Two..." he continues.

I keep staring at the ceiling. My mind feels blank. It's only when he bangs the door to inform me that he's at seven that I get up slowly.

Crying here in the bathroom won't do me any good. Sure, it's the only thing that I want to do...but…

"I'm opening the door," I tell him tiredly when he's at nine. "Don't break it down."

I unlock the bathroom to see him leaning calmly against the wall opposite to it.

"Finally," he says, straightening from his relaxed posture when he sees me."You've been there for well over half an hour."

I don't say anything.

He frowns at me. "How are your arms?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Numb, I think."

He sighs and then runs a hand through his midnight black tresses. "Sit down on those couches over there," he nods to the couches in the living room, "I'll be right back."

Nodding, I move over to the living room and absently sit on a black couch. I fold my arms across my lap and then wince when a sudden pain jolts through them. I try to concentrate my focus somewhere else, anywhere but on my arms. My eyes fall upon a bowl of fruit placed on a glass table in front of me. My mouth waters when I see a green apple amongst the array of fruits. I honestly can't remember the last time I ate one.

"You can have that," Natsume's voice comes from behind.

I jump a bit at that, startled by his voice all of a sudden. I whirl my head back to see him standing behind the sofa with a small tube in his hand.

"What's in your hand?"

"An ointment," he says as he moves to stand in front of me. "Do you want the apple first or the ointment?"

I decide the apple can wait, my arms are the priority here, not my stomach. "The ointment, please," I tell him.

He nods and then hands the little tube to me. I take it eagerly.

I eye the little tube he gave me with curiosity. It hasn't got anything written on it. "Is this legal?"

His lips twitch. "What would you do if I said no?"

"I wouldn't put it on," I tell him. There's no way that I'm going to put some illegal ointment on my arms.

Natsume shrugs. "Your loss."

I look at the tube. Should I put it on? My arms yell at me to do so, but my brain says otherwise. What if something goes wrong? What if my arm becomes dysfunctional?

I bite my lips.

The wounds on my arms burn.

I hope this little ointment works. Sighing, I unscrew the cap and squeeze a bit of it out onto my finger. It's transparent in colour. Closing my eyes at the idiocy of this whole act, I spread the ointment over my left arm.

And within a few seconds, the burning stops and the gash heals itself.

I blink, thoroughly confused. "What the hell?"

Natsume smirks. "It's special. Meant to heal cuts and stuff. Very precious."

"I can see that," I say and then I squeeze a bit more out and put it on my right arm. I let out a moan of pleasure. This feels so good.

I bring both of my arms together and marvel at the magic of the ointment. Seriously, it's just like magic. My wounds were fixed within mere seconds!

"Where did you get this thing?" I ask Natsume, as I eye that little tube with awe. It's the perfect thing to have with you during the Games. Just a little bit of it can cure any wound you get. At least, that's what I think.

"From a person I know," Natsume tells me vaguely. "A friend of mine."

I nod. "Alright. That thing is amazing. Are these the ones that the sponsors give to the Tributes?"

"Yeah," Natsume says as he walks over to the glass table. He snatches the green apple from the bowl. "Do you want me to cut this for you?"

I shake my head. "No, thanks."

He walks over and gives me the apple before plopping down onto the sofa.

I bite it and immediately the sweet taste of the apple fills my mouth. "What time is it?" I ask as I take another bite.

"Half past five."

My eyes widen. Half past five? Oh my god. The reaping starts at six! "I've got to go to my dorm," I say as I abruptly get up from the couch, the apple still in my hand."I need to get ready for the Reaping."

Truthfully, I don't want to go to the Reaping...but...it's not like I've got a choice. I'm pretty sure if I skip, they'll track me down.

"No. You're not going anywhere," Natsume says firmly. "Do you want to get killed?"

"But I need to change my clothes!" I practically whine. I can't go to the reaping like this! My clothes are covered in blood! Everyone will basically think I've gotten so excited about the Games that I've already been out and about hurting people!

Natsume dismisses that with a wave of his hand. "That's not a problem. I've already gotten one of your dresses from your dorm."

...

That is plain creepy.

I tell him that to which he replies by shrugging. "If you don't want to wear the dress, fine by me. You can go to the Reaping looking like you've just committed a murder."

"I did not commit murder!" Hell,_I_was the one about to be murdered!

"Well, they don't know that, do they?"

I shake my head. "Is it normal for the students here to kill one another before the Reaping?"

He thinks for a while. "It's not normal, but, it does happen sometimes."

I shudder, but not before taking another bite of my apple.

"So where's my dress?" I say a bit tired, "I think I'll go change now."

He tilts his head over to his room. "It's in there."

I look over at his room and spot the dress on his bed. I make my way over to the bed and take the dress. It's a purple one. It's pretty but simple. I like it. "Thanks for getting it, Hyuuga."

"Yeah, whatever Polka."

"And thanks for," my voice falters a bit, "well, you know."

He doesn't say anything this time.

I give him a small smile and then head into the bathroom once more to change.

* * *

><p>By the time I'm ready, it's already 5:45. Natsume and I decide to go to the District Centre together. Well, more like, he demands that we go together because he still thinks that they're out to get me or something. Rolling my eyes, I agree with him and the both of us head out of the Academy.<p>

It's a good thing that we don't have to walk to the District Centre. Unlike the Chopper which is quite close to the Academy, the District Centre is pretty far away. Probably a few miles or so.

We sit in a car instead (the driver being one of the Academy's security guards). Natsume sits in the front with the driver, while I sit in the back alone. I close my eyes, trying to block out all thoughts of the Reaping and the Games and...my encounter with Kiki. But it's hard_not_to think about what just happened. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that.

After a couple of minutes, the car comes to a halt.

"We're here," the driver informs us.

I unbuckle my seat belt and open the door. The District Centre is full of people, in fact, it's even more crowded than it was during the Annual Humana Sacrificium. There's a stage up in front and to the left of it, there are chairs for the adults to sit. On the right-side, there's a place for the non-sixteen and eighteen year olds to sit. Almost everyone is already in their seats, only a few are hustling and bustling about, some wishing their kids good luck for the reaping and such.

A small frown forms on my lips.

How _absurd._

I turn around, expecting Natsume to be there, but he isn't. I frown, where did that boy go? Shrugging my shoulders I walk over to where other girls my age are standing. They're standing right in front of the stage in a straight line according to their height. So of course, I have to stand in front.

To my right are the eighteen year old girls. I turn my head back, searching for Nobara. I see her standing behind three girls. Her eyes meet mine. I give her a small encouraging smile. She gives me a wobbly grin.

I stand there for a few minutes, my mind going absolutely crazy.

I hear Reo say something on the mike.

_This is it._

"Welcome! Welcome! To District 5's Annual Reaping!" A woman's voice chirps excitedly from the stage. I grimace when I see her. She's from the Alice City, there's no questioning it. Her clothes are so scandalous. And her hair...oh gosh. Her hair is unnaturally blond and straight and there's far too much make-up on her face.

The crowd whoops in excitement.

"As you all know, I'm Luna Koizumi! And I will be doing the honours of selecting the Tributes from this District!"

I cringe. Her voice is so annoying.

Gah.

Luna Koizumi.

I've heard that name before. She's one of the President's play-toys or something.

"Anyways, I'm so excited!" She exclaims as she claps her hands, "I get to draw four different names this year!" She smiles happily at the crowd. "So, let's get started, shall we?" And then she walks up over to the bowls, there are four of them placed on the table. "Hmm, so which one should I start from?" she places a finger on her chin, thinking. "I think I'll go with the youngest ladies first, don't you think?"

There are roars of approval from the crowd.

"Okay then, the sixteen year old ladies it is!" She sticks her hand into a bowl and reaches for a chit. One of the seven has my name on it.

I gulp and stare fixedly at the ground.

Please _please _let it not be me.

Luna reads the chit and her eyes sparkle. "And our sixteen year old female tribute is _Kiki Ayuzawa_!"

* * *

><p>I bet you didn't see that last part coming!<p>

If you have any questions, ask away! School doesn't start till the 7th for me, so till then, I have a lot of free time!

Reviews would be fantastic :D

_Carolle Royale _


	12. Important Notice

**Author's Note :** Hi guys. I have some good news (okay not that good, but it's definitely better than the bad news) and some bad news.

I'll start with the bad news :

I'm going to go on an hiatus. For those of you who have read the small message on my profile, you probably know that I had written the whole of chapter 12 (which was about 11,000 words) and then it got deleted from my laptop and I being the stupid moron that I am—didn't have any back up. So basically, I lost the whole chapter and the chapter outline for the next ones. I was ready to re-write the whole thing, I really was. Despite having loads of school work and other stuff to worry about, I was ready to write the whole chapter again. And I actually did. Well, not the whole thing. But I re-wrote at least 25% of it. Well you must be wondering what the big deal is, I mean, the whole 'losing a chapter' thing must seem very trivial. It is. But recently I've been disheartened due to the fact that I have been plagiarised.

I know. Plagiarism always happens. A lot of authors get plagiarised. But honestly speaking, I never thought that would happen to me. I know I shouldn't stop writing because some stupid person has decided to copy my story verbatim, but...it's not the only reason why I have decided to go on a hiatus.

I guess getting plagiarised has let me realise that I need to take a break from fanfiction. I guess it's like a sort of scapegoat, you know? I mean, for the past few weeks I haven't been able to write a single paragraph and my mind has just been so _blank ;_ it's ludicrous. Plus, I'm a junior in high school which means I have so _much_ work to do. Keeping up my grades, community service, looking into colleges and the like. It's hard to keep up with everything and if I focus too much on one thing, the other's will get neglected. And in this case, I really can't afford to neglect my academics, I hope you all understand.

I don't like it when authors' randomly decide to go on a hiatus without telling their readers —so it's only fair that I tell you all about this. I'm not leaving fanfiction, dear no —I have every intention upon finishing this story— but I will be taking a break. But I'll come back, don't know when, but I'll come back. That is a promise.

So, let's go to the good news, shall we?

Since posting a chapter soley for the purpose of an author's note disregards ffn rules, I decided to include a small preview of chapter 12. I really don't want this story to be taken down by the admins, so, putting in a small preview of the next chapter seemed like a good thing to do. Some of you may probably get a pissed at me for leaving the preview like this...but you know me, I like cliffhangers ;)

Anyways, this is the end of this dreadfully long author's note! I am so sorry guys. I truly am. But things are just not working out. I'll come back. Someday.

For sure.

Till then,

Goodbye.

-Carolle Royale

* * *

><p>"<em>And our sixteen year-old tribute is, Kiki Ayuzawa!"<em>

I feel as if my breathe has been knocked out of me. My head immediately snaps up from its perpetual gaze from the ground and falls upon Luna, who's still standing with the chit in her hand. She's got a big grin plastered on her face as she eyes the audience expectantly, waiting for Kiki to come running up. Did I just hear her correctly? Did she actually say Kiki?! Or is that just a figment my imagination?

"Will Miss Kiki please report to the stage?" Luna says into the mike, a little bit distressed after a minute or two passes with no trace of Kiki.

I sigh in relief. So she _had _said Kiki.

_Thank god. _

But where is that girl? I crane my neck back, trying to spot her behind me in the line (yes, she's been gifted with a perfectly good height unlike my ruddy 5'1.) but it's of no use. I can't see her anywhere. Maybe she's hiding in the bathrooms..

I thought she would've run up on stage the second her name had been called out, but, I guess she's a bilker. It certainly doesn't seem that she's excited about getting selected.

The girls behind me start whispering amongst themselves; apparently they think it's a bit out of character for Kiki not to go dashing up on stage, too.

I turn my head towards the right and spot Nobara. I give her a small smile. She returns it with one of her own. After all, my name hasn't been drawn.

I turn my head back onto the stage to see Luna tap her right foot which is clad in a three inch heel shoe, rather impatiently. "Kiki Ayuzawa, please report to the stage immediately! We haven't got all day!"

At that, there are even more strings of murmurs and whispers. I purse my lips. Where in the world is that stupid girl? I let out a frustrated sigh. It was just a mere hour or two ago when she had wanted to_ kill_ for increasing her chance of getting reaped but, now that she has indeed been chosen, she doesn't show up!

"This is preposterous!" Luna exclaims into the mike, clutching it with her right hand, "Miss Kiki! Imme—" She stops mid-sentence, lowering the mike from her mouth, as Reo emerges up on stage (I don't even remember him being on the stage) and then proceeds to tell her something in her ear. Luna's face contorts into an expression of shock and I see her mouth rapidly move, saying something to him. He shakes his head and then motions towards the mike.

Luna brings a hand to her forehead. She shakes her head and then says something else to Reo. He shrugs and mutters something back at her. Luna then runs her hand through her blonde hair, obviously quite distraught. After a minute or two, she removes it from her hair and brings back the mike to her mouth. "There has been a slight change," she tells us succinctly, her voice surprisingly steady. I expected it to be quivering a bit, since the whole conversation between her and Reo seemed to unsettle her. "Kiki Ayuzawa will _not_ be a tribute in the Games as she is no longer with us."

* * *

><p><em>Carolle Royale <em>


	13. The Reaping

**Disclaimer : Nope, I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

* * *

><p><strong>AN :** Wow. It's almost been 2 years since I updated this story! I am so, so, sorry! The past two years have been really hectic for me and everything was a blur. I'm officially done with high school! I know, I can't believe it either! It seems so strange that I won't be going to high school anymore. Honestly, I can't even grasp the fact that I'll be heading to college this fall. It seems too surreal.

Anyways, it's about time I updated this story. This chapter was actually a bit too long to be updated as a single chapter. So for that reason, I've cut it down into three parts. I had to go back and re-read this whole story haha. I don't even remember writing half of what I posted here xD That kind of tells you how long it's been since I've read/ wrote this story, haha. I was about 15 years old when I first started writing this and now I'm almost 18! How time flies.

Sorry about the short chapter! But it had to be done.I'm not even sure how many people read this story, so..yeah. So here's the 12th chapter! It's rather short, I know, but the next chapters will have interesting stuff happening in them!

Okay, this is a rather long Author's note. I'm just a bit too happy to be updating TAG, haha. Alright. I'm going to stop now.

I hope this chapter doesn't bore you guys, lol. Things will get interesting later, I promise. :D

* * *

><p><strong>The Alice Games<br>Chapter 12:** The Reaping

"_And our sixteen year-old tribute is, Kiki Ayuzawa!"_

I feel as if my breathe has been knocked out of me. My head immediately snaps up from its perpetual gaze from the ground and falls upon Luna, who's still standing with the chit in her hand. She's got a big grin plastered on her face as she eyes the audience expectantly, waiting for Kiki to come running up. Did I just hear her correctly? Did she actually say Kiki?! Or is that just a figment of my imagination?

"Will Miss Ayuzawa please report to the stage?" Luna says into the mike, a little bit impatient after a minute or two passes with no trace of Kiki.

I sigh in relief. So she _had _said Kiki.

_Thank god. _

But where is that girl? I crane my neck back, trying to spot her behind me in the line (yes, she's been gifted with a perfectly good height unlike my ruddy 5'1.) but it's of no use. I can't see her anywhere. Maybe she's hiding in the bathrooms..

I thought she would've run up on stage the second her name had been called out, but, I guess she's a bilker. It certainly doesn't seem like she's excited about getting selected.

The girls behind me start whispering amongst themselves; apparently they think it's a bit out of character for Kiki not to go dashing up on stage too.

I turn my head towards the right and spot Nobara. I give her a small smile. She returns it with one of her own. I guess we both can bask in the joy of the moment, after all, my name hasn't been drawn.

I turn my head back onto the stage to see Luna tap her right foot which is clad in a four inch heel shoe, rather impatiently. "Kiki Ayuzawa, please report to the stage immediately! We haven't got all day!"

There are even more strings of murmurs and whispers at that. I purse my lips. Where in the world is that stupid girl? I let out a frustrated sigh. It was just a mere hour or two ago when she had wanted to_ kill_ for increasing her chance of getting reaped but, now that she has indeed been chosen, she doesn't show up?!

"This is preposterous!" Luna exclaims into the mike, clutching it with her right hand, "Miss Kiki! Imme—" She stops mid-sentence, lowering the mike from her mouth, as Reo emerges up on stage (I don't even remember him being on the stage) and then proceeds to tell her something in her ear. Luna's face contorts into an expression of shock and I see her mouth rapidly move, undoubtedly saying something to him. He shakes his head and then motions towards the mike.

Luna brings a hand to her forehead. She shakes her head and then says something else to Reo. He shrugs and mutters something back at her. Luna then runs her hand through her blonde hair, obviously quite distraught. After a minute or two, she removes it from her hair and brings back the mike to her mouth. "There has been a slight change," she tells us succinctly, her voice surprisingly steady. I expected it to be quivering a bit, since the whole conversation between her and Reo seemed to unsettle her. "Kiki Ayuzawa will _not_ be a tribute in the Games as she is no longer with us."

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what she means by that.

And for the second time within a mere span of ten minutes, my breath gets knocked out from me.

I hear the girls behind me squeal with excitement.

"We've got a chance after all!" One of them gushes excitedly with glee clapping her hands together.

"Yes! Isn't that great! I was so disappointed when my name didn't get called out!"

"Exactly! Now I can actually live up to my parents' expectations! They were so proud of my brother when he won the Games! Now I might have a chance to do that!"

I ignore their useless conversation and try to get my breathing back to normal. I keep telling myself that I haven't been chosen as a tribute— yet. That little word gets my palm all sticky and my head starts to feel rather heavy. I shake my head a bit sorrowfully. It was only five minutes ago when Kiki had got selected and a huge wave of relief had washed over me.

Now.. five minutes later, Kiki is somehow _dead _ and there are only six more chits out of which one of them has my name written on it.

"Silence!" Luna demands into the mike, her previous chirpiness completely gone. I guess Kiki's untimely death has affected her somehow— which is rather strange because I hadn't thought someone from the Alice city would care about a District person, especially not someone like Luna Koizumi.

I gulp nervously as Luna starts speaking again. "Due to a series of unfortunate events, we will be choosing another sixteen year old female tribute."

The girls behind me clap in glee.

So do a lot of other people, actually.

I'm far too nervous to even scowl in disgust. I may not have liked Kiki, but honestly, weren't the rest of the girls supposed to be her _friends_? Obviously, her death isn't anything to me, except for causing me to feel all jittery since my chances of getting selected in the reaping has increased, but other than that, I really don't even feel a tiny ounce of sympathy for her. But the rest of the people...they've lived with her for so long! Shouldn't they feel at least a bit morose? I mean granted, Kiki was rather obnoxious, but, she _did_ have friends...

I look down at the ground rather lugubriously. I guess...having friends is a luxury that these people cannot afford...

"Well, I'll choose the sixteen year-old female tribute at the end then." Luna informs us, with Reo muttering something else into her ear. Luna scowls momentarily but then regains her composure. "As a change, let's do the male tributes first now, shall we?"

The girls behind me start muttering in dismay; they obviously want Luna to choose the sixteen year-old tribute right now. Unlike them, I let out a sigh of relief. I wouldn't be chosen. I just _couldn't. _ I mean honestly, what are the odds that I'd transfer districts _and _get chosen to be a tribute in the Quincidem

Exactly.

The odds are _very_ less.

I shut my eyes closed as I hear Luna begin speaking again and pray under my breathe. I can't be chosen. I won't be chosen. I _can't. _

"The 16-year old male tribute is..." Luna pauses—the crowd is pin drop silent, not even a whisper can be heard. Everyone is waiting with bated breath for the first male tribute to be chosen. I assume that Luna's picking out a chit from the bowl now, since I can't hear her voice. I can't see since what she is doing since my eyes are shut tight.

_Please don't let me get selected, please._

"NATSUME HYUUGA!" Luna booms out. I snap my eyes open and immediately spot Natsume who is proceeding up to the stage. His face is expressionless and as he shakes Luna's hands, there's a roar of applause from the crowd. Apparently everyone is quite happy that Natsume has been chosen. Even the rest of the 16 year old boys clap their hands without a sign of resentment etched on their faces. They obviously know that Natsume has a _much_ better chance at winning the Games than they do.

I don't even like the guy much but..the fact that he got chosen makes me feel uncomfortable. Probably because he's one of the few people I've actually talked to over here and if he dies...then...I guess Youchi's death was in vain.

I try to push thoughts of Youchi out of my head when I feel my eyes beginning to water. I cannot cry. Not now. But it's a lost cause because a picture of Youichi and Natsume eating lunch together flashes through my head and then another one of Youichi and...and that night.

I shudder as my thoughts are interrupted by Luna's sick jokes. "Aren't we so lucky that our first male tribute is healthy and breathing? Unlike the first female tribute that had been chosen..."

I hear people chortling with amusement by her remark and I feel a twinge of nausea over take me. I clench my fists and take a deep breath. I can't let the insensitive and inhumane nature of the people of this district get to me. I can't let them reduce me into a huge pile of emotional mess; I can't appear to be weak or faint hearted. If I do, Reo would give me a low rank, or even worse, I'll become rank-less and I'll be forced to _work _for these people.

I shudder as I think about how it'd be to work for these people. I would probably have to do tedious duties, such as cleaning the toilets, washing the dishes, handling the garbage and such.

I'd be rank-less. A nobody. A labour.

A labour from another district.

"Alright, now let's see who our lucky 18 year old male tribute is!" Luna's voice bellows through the speakers.I watch as Luna reaches out into another bowl. She rummages her hand through the chits and picks one out. "Hayate Inarati!" She screams.

There's another thunder of applause. I hear people screaming Hayate's name with joy.

"Hayate! Hayate! Bring glory to our district!"

"Hayate! You shall be the champion of champions!"

"Hayate is number 1! He shall always be number 1!"

I scoff a bit at the last one. I sincerely hope that he is _not_ number 1, insensitive of me, I know but he's insane!

I see Hayate strutting up to the stage with a big smirk plastered on his face. He shakes hands with Luna and then gestures towards her mike, indicating that he wants to say something. Although Luna gives him a skeptical look, she hands the mike to Hayate.

"I've waited many years for this chance and now that I have it, no one and I mean no one, can take away my glory," Hayate says, his voice smooth and confident. "I'll kill the maximum number of tributes! I'll rip their flesh with my bare hands and I will let the blood seep out from their bodies," he promises, his words growing hard with each sentence. "I'll be the first victor of the Quindicem and I'll give the Alice City a show that they'll never forget…" He finishes with a wicked grin etched on his face. The crowd goes ballistic after his short speech, with people clapping and stamping their feet in applause. Hayate gives a small bow and then hands the mike back to Luna.

"Well, that was a rather interesting speech, wasn't it?" Luna exclaims, referring to Hayate's 'victory' speech. The crowd hoots. "Now, it's the ladies turn!" She moves over to another bowl. "Let us pick the 18 year old girl tribute!"

I sneak a quick glance at Nobara. Her eyes meet mine and I give her an encouraging smile. She returns it with one of her own. Her eyes tell a different story though. She's terrified and I don't blame her at all.

"The 18 year old female tribute is Nobara Igaragi!"

My eyes widen with horror. No! Nobara can't be chosen! She's the only friend I have here! As I start panicking, I see the 18 year old girls pushing Nobara towards the stage. Nobara walks slowly to the stage, her fists clenching and unclenching by her sides. Luna ushers her over to the middle and engulfs Nobara into a hug. Unlike Hayate, Nobara does not give a speech of any sort. She takes a few steps back and stands beside Natsume and Hayate. I'm surprised at how calm and collected she looks on the outside; almost as if she were made out of ice.

"And now, for the 16 year old female tribute!" Luna moves over to the last bowl.

I gulp.

This was it.

My palms start sweating and I close my eyes shut. I can hear the girls beside me, whispering to each other, hoping that they get chosen.

I hate how this is the second time I'm being put to this kind of torture. If the first time was excruciating, this was as if I had been thrown into a pool of lava. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I was frightened as fuck.

"Well, well, what have we got here?" Luna inquires, my eyes open immediately and I see her looking at the chit rather curiously. I wonder why she's got that look on her face, for all the other chits, she blurted out the name of the tribute immediately. I see her look at the chit for two more seconds and then she drops the bomb. "Our 16 year old female tribute is rather special! It's Mikan Sakura! The distract transfer!"

I freeze, my whole body becoming hard as a rock. I can't hear anything, I can't feel anything and I sure as hell can't say anything. Something pokes my back, but I ignore it.

My worst fears have been confirmed.

I've been chosen as a tribute in the Games.

I vaguely notice a shooting star across the horizon, but then I feel my knees buckle under me and I collapse and immediately everything turns black.

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><p>Please leave a review behind! I want to know how many people read this story of mine. Thank you so much for patiently waiting for this story to be updated. :) Updates will be more frequent now (hopefully)Oh and if you guys have time, check out my new multi chaptered story called <strong><em>The House of the Rising<em>_ Sun!_ **I'll be updating that regularly! Feel free to drop me a message! I have 4 more months of summerrr, hehe. So I'd love to talk to you guys :D

You can ask me questions about anything on my askfm account! my username is CarolleRoyale. The link is given on my profile :)

Okay, I'll stop rambling. Don't forget to review!

**Carolle Royale**


	14. Something Lost

**Disclaimer : No, I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

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><p><strong>AN : **Hi everyone! Surprised that I updated so soon? So am I, haha. I think I'll be updating once every two weeks for the next four months (again hopefully, I'm not too sure yet so don't get too mad if I don't lol) Most of my chapters will be about 3k words long, or maybe more. I'm not too sure yet though, I might just write a 10k long chapter some day and post that haha.

Anyways, thanks to everyone who has patiently waited for this story to be updated :) It means a lot to me that people still read this story despite an almost 2-year hiatus.

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><p><strong>The Alice Games<br>Chapter 13 :** Something Lost

"Look! She's waking up!"

"About time. She's been gone for hours now."

"Oh shush, Miyaki. No need to be sour."

I groggily open my eyes and I'm awarded by a flash of light streaming onto my face. I blink rapidly, my eyes trying to adjust to the light. After a few seconds, when the light ceases to affect my eyesight, I notice that I'm lying on what I assume is a bed in a strange room. The walls are an off-white color and there are no windows whatsoever. The room is practically bare, save for the bed I'm lying on and a side table next to it. From the corner of my eye, I see someone with a mop of black hair leave the room. I furrow my eyebrows. Was that Natsume? I shake my head and quickly let that thought out of my head. It's ridiculous; why in the world would he be here?

I hear a light cough and that's when I notice Nobara, Luna and Miyaki standing at the foot of my bed. Nobara is still in her reaping clothes, whereas Miyaki is clad in black gear. Luna on the other hand, has a light blue dress donned on and her hair is pinned up perfectly, as if she were at some fancy party. This is probably the oddest trio I've ever seen.

"You're awake!" Nobara gushes as she comes up to me and gives me a hug. I prop onto my elbows and awkwardly hug her back. "You've been asleep for six hours now! I was getting worried."

I pull back from her and look at her face. "Six hours? What do you mean?" I ask her, my voice hoarse from all the sleep. I quietly try to clear it, but end up coughing a few times.

Nobara opens her mouth to answer, but Miyaki beats her to it. "You got knocked out by another student a few seconds after your name had been called out."

Honestly, the way she said it was so flippant. For a second there, I thought that she was joking. Because seriously, why the hell would I get knocked out for being called out as a tribute?! (I didn't even get selected as a tribute, so I don't even get why Miyaki said that)Normal people would be _horrified_ at my misfortune. They'd hug me, hold me tightly, and whisper that everything would be okay and that I would somehow find a way to survive- or at least die painlessly. But no, apparently here in District 5, people would _injure_ me if I got selected! Although I loathe this district with every fiber in my being, I refuse to believe that even someone here is capable of knocking out a chosen tribute right after they've been chosen. The reaping is broadcasted on live television for God's sake! If not for the tribute's sake, they should for at least their own sake avoid getting something like this on television. Acts of violence doesn't go unnoticed by the Alice City.

I look at Nobara and try to gauge her expression to see whether Miyaki is just fooling around or not. Her expression seems serious.

I sit up straight. "Called out?"

Luna gives a small chuckle. "Yes!"

"For what?" I ask, absolutely bewildered. I can't for the life of me fathom what they're trying to say. I hadn't gotten chosen. Miyaki is lying. She_ has_ to be lying.

Nobara gives me a sad, knowing look. "For the Games," she softly says, her words break through me like shards of ice, "you've been chosen."

I blink.

And it all comes back to me.

"No," I let out a gasp as the reality of my current situation sinks in. I had thought all of that was a nightmare! "this has got to be a mistake! I can't be selected!" I clench the blanket around me tightly. This couldn't be possible! I'm a district transfer! I have practically no survival skills and definitely no skills in killing.

Luna shakes her head. "It's no mistake. I picked your chit myself."

I turn to look at Nobara. "This means you're selected too?" I ask.

She nods slowly, her face incredibly sad and her blue eyes shining.

I put my head in my hands. A sharp twinge of pain jolts through me and I groan. I feel Nobara's hands on my shoulder. "Be careful," she tells me, "don't move your head around too much just yet. Someone knocked you out on your head shortly after your name was called. There was a lot of blood."

"Why would they do that?" I grumble into my hands, the pain searing through my head. This district has injured me far too much already. And now they're bringing me to my death.

"They obviously think you're unworthy of representing our district," Miyaki says. I can practically hear the sneer in her voice. "Damn right they are too." I purse my lips. She is so…so…so…demotivating.

"Miyaki!" Luna admonishes. "That's no way to speak to a tribute!"

Miyaki mutters something undecipherable under her breathe. "Well, now that the fragile princess is awake, I'm going to get myself some refreshments from the refreshment compartment." And with that, I hear her swiftly opening the door and slamming it behind her. The noise causes my head to throb.

Luna mumbles under her breathe. I catch a few phrases such as 'rude', 'stupid Miyaki', 'she needs to be taught manners', 'can't believe I have to deal with her again this year'. I snicker, at least I wasn't the only one who found Miyaki to be rude and annoying as hell.

"Here, drink some water." Nobara says and I feel her push something towards me. I slowly remove my hands from my face and gingerly take the cup of water. I sip eagerly and down the water in mere seconds.

"Feel a bit better?" She asks.

I nod and place the empty cup on the side table next to the bed. There are three pill containers on the table along with a bowl (of soup?). There's also a small device like thing next to the bowl, but I have no idea what it is or why it's there. Probably something related to medical issues, I gather.

Luna clears her throat. "I have some important matters to attend to now that you're awake," she tells me. She looks at Nobara. "Since the Games haven't officially started, please try not to kill her, alright? She needs to arrive in one piece to the Alice City."

Nobara seems a bit shocked. "I'd never hurt her!" She exclaims indignantly.

Luna chuckles, "Is that so?"

Nobara gives Luna a look of disgust. "Mikan is my friend. I would _never_ hurt my friend."

Luna cracks a grin. "Well, I better get going." She gives me a smile. "Take care, Mikan. You've got a long journey ahead of you."

And like Miyaki, she too disappears out of the room, leaving me alone with Nobara. I heave a sigh of relief.

"I would never hurt you, you know." Nobara softly says, as she moves to sit on the edge of my bed.

I give her a smile. "I know you won't."

She smiles back.

"Where am I?" I ask her.

"We're in the District 5 Tribute's train," she tells me. "We're heading to the Alice City." She gets a distant look on her face as she stares right in front of her. I wonder what she's thinking of. Has she been to the Alice City before? Has she heard something terrible about the place? I guess I'll never know. "This is one of the medical rooms," she concludes.

I purse my lips and let out a small groan. The Alice City. I was going to the Alice City.

_Fuck._

**~(*)~**

The silence is killing me.

Like literally.

I don't think anyone in the compartment is even breathing; it's _that _quiet here. Nobara and I had been talking for a while before Miyaki came inside the medical room and demanded that we go to Compartment number 7, where the rest of the tributes (aka Natsume and Creep No.1 -Hayate) were waiting. Apparently we are going to meet our official mentor (thankfully Miyaki is just helping out our real mentor) right now. So, with the help of Nobara, I got out of my purple reaping dress and put on some more comfortable clothes (which Luna had so graciously brought me a few minutes before Miyaki had arrived): black jeggings, a white button up shirt with a grey cardigan on top. Nobara had been talking with me the entire time before we reached the compartment. She'd been giving me small tips and advice for the arena and I noted them done mentally. However, once we opened the compartment door, revealing Natsume sitting on the sofa and Hayate sitting on a table (although there are refreshment and snacks there), Nobara shut her mouth, as if she had been petrified.

I really couldn't blame her. Nobody would really want to talk in a room with those two. Natsume is kind of alright, but Hayate…he's absolutely mental.

Natsume is currently reading a newspaper. His feet are propped onto the sofa and he's strumming his fingers on his left thigh. Nobara is sitting right next to me, but she seems to be staring off into space and her face is distant. Hayate on the other hand, is twirling a fork between his fingers. Every once in a while, he grins maliciously, like he's imagining that he's killing someone with the fork. I shudder. Death by a fork seems rather sad.

"Say Hyuuga," Hayate randomly says, in the midst of his knife twirling, "how many of them are you going to kill?"

My eyes widen a bit. It doesn't take a genius to get who the 'them' he is referring to. I watch interestedly as Natsume calmly looks up from his newspaper and eyes Hayate coolly. "I really don't know," he shrugs and resumes back to his reading.

Hayate lets out a scornful laugh. "That's what all pansies say," he snickers out. "You probably won't be able to kill a single tribute!"

I scoff at that. I had seen Natsume in training. To say he's good would be an understatement; he's fucking _amazing_. Not only does he have an offensive Alice type, but he's also a pro with swords, arrows and lifting. I know he has great survival skills because of that day we spent in the forest. His only weakness perhaps, would be Archery. But even then, he still manages to hit the Bull's Eye five out of nine times. So that really doesn't count as a weakness. All in all, I'd say Natsume would probably be capable of killing the most tributes in the Games. He certainly has the skill.

But does he have the ability is a totally another question. I really don't think he'd be able to _kill _someone. But then again- I remember with a twinge of something I can't really decipher-I don't know him at all. So I really can't say whether or not he'll kill.

I can see Natsume roll his eyes. "Whatever," he says with an air of nonchalance, "I don't care."

Hayate looks a bit taken aback by Natsume's reaction…or lack of that is and opens his mouth to blurt something else out. But at that exact moment, the compartment door slides open and a man steps in. Natsume looks up from his newspaper and immediately scowls. Hayate, like Natsume, has a frown patched on his face as the man steps forward. I nudge Nobara lightly and she jolts out of her daydream. She lets out a small groan and her eyes avert to her feet.

I'm the only one who doesn't have any notable reaction towards this man. He's tall. Somewhere between 6'1 and 6'3, I'd say. There's a black mask on his face and he's dressed in all black. His shoes, his shirt, his jacket, his pants and even his hair are all black. I can't help but think that there's something odd about him…like I've seen him somewhere before..

"So, these are my tributes this year?" His voice breaks the silence. He walks into the room and casually drapes his jacket onto a chair before sitting.

"I should have known you'd be our mentor," Natsume mutters darkly.

The man doesn't say anything.

I stare at him. Where exactly have I seen him before? I rack my brain, trying desperately to figure out who this man is and where I've seen him before. It's unsettling. I know I've seen him before. I'm almost 99.8 % sure I've seen him before. But where?

"How are all of my tributes this fine evening?" The man asks, reaching out for a scone on the table. He has gloves on: black ones. I watch as he swiftly picks up a butter knife and applies some cream cheese on the scone before popping it into his mouth. He chews thoroughly and then picks up another scone and does the same.

"Fine," I hear Nobara mutter.

"Hurry up and just tell us the strategy," Natsume urges, eyeing the scone with disdain. I see Hayate nod in agreement. This is probably the only time the both will ever agree to something.

As if to prove a point to Natsume, the man picks up two other scones and cuts himself a piece of apple pie. He leisurely takes his time in eating the scones and pie. Natsume bites his lips and clenches his fists. I'm surprised to notice that Hayate doesn't say anything, clearly this man has the ability to render him speechless. Nobara is still staring at her feet, but her lips are trembling, like she's whispering something to herself really fast. I furrow my eyebrows, completely confused by their behavior.

"So this year is the Quincidem-," the man starts saying.

"-Tell me something I don't know, Persona," Natsume hisses out. His fists are still clenched to his sides. His face is still passive though, not betraying any of his emotions.

Persona? I've heard of that name before! Actually, I'm sure I've heard it a bunch of times! Now where did I see him…

Persona ignores Natsume's comment and continues talking, "-and we're the Career tributes. We're expected to win these Games, and we will."

"Ho-"Hayate starts to say but Persona gives him a look which stops him from saying anything. "I don't want any interruptions right now," Persona tells the four of us, his eyes on Natsume as he says it.

"In the previous Games, we've formed Alliances with the one other district. It worked to our benefit, we'd wipe out the remaining tributes and then we'd kill our allies. This year however, I do not want any alliances. We are four in number, so we don't need other weaklings," As he says weaklings however, his eyes linger on me. I gulp nervously. He knows that I'm weak, hell, I'm pretty sure every other tribute knows I'm weak too. "I want all of you to work as a _team _during the initial bloodbath. If you manage to kill 10 tributes by that time, then I want you all to split. If 10 are killed, then there will only be 6 more tributes remaining and your task will be simple. Most of these tributes have no significant training and will probably die of natural causes. I want you four to be the last four standing."

The last four standing? Is this man insane? "We'll have to kill each other?" I ask, forgetting that we aren't supposed to interrupt.

Persona shakes his head. "Not exactly."

"But…but…"

"I've got information from an insider about a few changes in the rules for this Game," Persona tells us his voice a bit low, "if the last four tributes standing are from the same district, two of the tributes will be allowed to win and they both will get something which they have previously lost."

I see Natsume straighten up at that. He unclenches his fists and regards Persona. "Something which we have lost?"

Persona smirks at Natsume. "Yes. Something that you have lost," but the way he says it doesn't exactly imply _something_..

"And two tributes? Are you being serious?" Hayate asks, his face utterly confused. I've never seen him look this baffled before. He's always so cocky and confident that this bewildered look of his a rather good change.

Persona nods.

"But why?" This was from Nobara. She had been silent throughout Persona's speech but not now.

Persona licks his lips, "Well…let's just say that the Alice City is feeling a bit _magnanimous_," he chuckles a bit as he says the last part, like it were some inside joke or something.

"No," Nobara shakes her head, obviously not satisfied with his answer. "_Why_ are you telling us this?"

Persona shrugs. "Why not? It'd bring glory to my district plus we'll get quadruple the amount of money if two our tributes come back."

"Now there's the real catch," I mutter. To my dismay, that doesn't go unnoticed by Persona and he just regards me coolly. I fidget a little bit under his scrutiny. I feel like he's trying to think of the various ways I can die and that makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. I still haven't actually grasped the idea that I am going to die soon. It's inevitable, I know. But some part of me, some childish part, still hopes that I'll somehow find a way. That I'll somehow manage to outlive the others in the arena and that I'll be able to go back to my home, district 4. Something that I've lost.

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><p><strong>A N :** To the anon **honolo** who asked me why I am being slow with the romance between Natsume and Mikan : Well, this is a story based off the Hunger Games. If you've read THG, you'd know that the romance between Peeta and Katniss was first one-sided and then eventually Katniss grew to have feelings for Peeta, which developed throughout the series. I personally do not believe in love-in-first-sight. I don't believe it exists, I think it's somewhat shallow. So that was out of the question for Mikan and Natsume.

It wouldn't make sense for Mikan and Natsume to fall in love already. I mean, why would they? To Natsume, Mikan is a hazard. She has transferred districts and does not have any survival skills or any significant training. Although he blames mostly himself for Youichi's death, a small part of him blames Mikan for his death, too. Natsume is full of angst and honestly, he wouldn't find himself falling in love with Mikan. He lost whatever freedom he had since Mikan arrived, because he got caught by Miyaki trying to escape just as Mikan entered the Academy. So I'd personally say he somewhat hates Mikan..or feels indifferent to her. Perhaps he's tolerant of her. But love? That is out of the question for now.

To Mikan, Natsume is a strange boy. She knows he's powerful and at the same time she knows he carries a lot of guilt on his shoulders. He's rude to Mikan and has threatened her a few times by saying he'd burn her hair. That really wouldn't make Mikan fall in love with him, now would it? Sure, he helped her a few times, but that's not enough.

These things take time. At least, for Natsume and Mikan's situation. They can't just randomly hook up; it won't make sense to the story. They have to fall in love gradually (maybe they won't even fall in love :P) to make it seem real; for it to _be_ real.

So yeah, I hope this answers why I'm being slow with the romance between Natsume and Mikan. :)

**_To my other anon readers, if you have any questions, you can ask them on my ask account! The link to it is on my profile. I'd answer your question here, but that takes up too much space and I'm afraid that my answers would become longer than the chapter itself, lol._**

Please drop a review behind! :)

**Carolle Royale**

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><p><em>June 11th, 2014<em>


	15. The Alice City

**Disclaimer: Neither Gakuen Alice nor The Hunger Games or Divergent belongs to me. Buut this story does :)**

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><p><strong>AN : **Hi everyone! I know it's been forever and this chapter is long overdue...but..here's the next chapter for this story! Thank you all for waiting so patiently for my sporadic updates, y'all are the best :) Hope the chapter isn't too disappointing! :)

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><p><strong>The Alice Games<strong>  
><strong>Chapter 14 :<strong> _The Alice City_

As an ex-inhabitant of District 4, I've seen a fair share of good food. The Alice City may ban us from exporting too much of our products, but that didn't mean they banned us from not having good quality of food always available. However, the dining compartment of the Tribute's train could probably feed at least half of District 4. Well okay, maybe not half-but it can definitely feed at least a 100 people.

I look around the dining compartment in awe. It's a buffet style, with numerous dishes laid out on one long table. On one side of the table, there's soups, salads and other fancy appetizers. In the middle, there's the main course. I can see pasta, pizza, and some other dishes —which I don't even _know_ the names of—placed on the table. On the other side is dessert. Cakes, ice-cream, cupcakes, macaroons, you name it and it's there.

"Oh my," Nobara mutters softly, tracing her palm along the white embroidered cloth of the table.

Oh my, indeed.

"Feel free to try anything," a waiter, or well I think he is a waiter, tells the two of us.

Nobara merely nods, and starts piling up some salad on a plate. Hesitantly, I grab a plate. I don't know why….but I feel so_..guilty_ all of a sudden for wanting to eat this food. I stare at all the dishes in front of me. These items were cooked by people in the Alice City. Did I really want to eat something cooked by_ them_?

"You'll have to eat eventually, you know," the man tells me, as if he could read my thoughts. He's standing a few feet behind me, with his hands behind his back. He's wearing a white shirt and black pants with an apron on top. Definitely a waiter. "Although you might not want to, you should," he advises.

I sigh. The man has a point. I give him a small smile, and wordlessly, I pile up some salad onto my plate. I walk over the table and put some Alfredo pasta on my plate as well. This is definitely more than enough for now.

I walk over to where Nobara is sitting and place my plate on the table. She's got salad on her plate and a soup.

"The food is actually quite good," Nobara tells me, slowly blowing her spoon of hot soup.

I slide into the seat in front of her, and take a bite of my pasta. "You're right," I tell her, covering my mouth while I chew, "the food_ is_ good." I take a few bites of my salad and before I even know it, I've managed to finish everything on my plate.

Nobara eyes my now clean plate with mild amusement dancing in her eyes. "You must have been starving," she observes, still eating.

Unlike me, Nobara is actually eating her food at a normal human pace. Not like some wild savage.

I grin sheepishly. She caught me. "I was," I admit.

"Me too."

For a while, there's silence in the compartment. The only noise is the slight clattering Nobara's fork and knife make while she tries to cut some chicken from her salad. I crane my neck to the left towards the windows. The view outside is kind of disappointing. We're going through barren land. Actually, I think we're going through a desert at the moment because all I see is dunes and dunes of sand. Okay, I'll admit, the view isn't that disappointing now that I take a good look of it. There's something oddly beautiful about all that sand and the way dunes have dents on them, like the craters on the moon.

I sigh as I tear my eyes away from the desert. Once the train stopped, I'd be in the Alice City..and soon enough, I'll be a part of the Games..If what Persona had said is true, there still might be some hope for me to return back to District 4….but...

I let out another sigh.

"What's wrong?" Nobara asks, breaking the silence.

"Do you think what Persona said is true?" I ask, turning back to look at Nobara. I watch as her expression turns from concerned to…defensive?

"Persona doesn't lie, Mikan," she tells me, her eyes guarded. "He might seem..a bit _cold_, but he doesn't lie."

"Actually," I lean both of my elbows onto the table and prop my chin on my hand, "—he seems very creepy," I scrunch my nose.

_Creepy would actually be an understatement._

Nobara lets out a small laugh. "Trust me, once you get to know him, Rei isn't creepy!"

I send her a questioning look. Rei? A patch of pink colors her cheek when she realizes the meaning behind my look. "I mean Persona," she quickly amends. "Persona isn't..he's not," she seems at lost for words, "he's not what you think he is," she finishes softly.

I blink. I was definitely not expecting _this _answer from Nobara. "Ummm.."I start, unsure of what exactly to say, "I guess you know Persona pretty well, then?"

Nobara blushes even harder this time. "I've known him since forever, yes," she replies, refusing to meet my eyes.

I bite my lower lip unconsciously. It's obvious from Nobara's reactions that she kind of has a soft spot for Persona. But _why?_

Since I have a tendency to butt into other people's business and be extremely nosy, I open my mouth to ask Nobara exactly _how_ Persona is misunderstood by most people, but that's exactly when Nobara accidentally drops the knife she had been using onto the ground. Her eyes widen as she looks at something to my left. I glance over my shoulder, and freeze slightly. The scene I see outside of the window isn't of barren deserts anymore. We've just entered through a gigantic gate, about 50 meters tall. What I see is now is concrete jungle; there's tall buildings everywhere—and they're all gleaming due to the light's reflection. I gulp nervously. I had seen pictures of this place before, and now I was actually here.

The Alice City.

We were now at the Alice City.

**~(*)~**

Once the train stops, Persona and Luna lead us four tributes out of the train and onto the station. Unlike the train stations for the Districts, the Alice City's train station is swarming with people. I see Nobara, Hayate and Luna a few feet away from us. They're surrounded by a bunch of reporters and other odd-looking people. Nobara has a slightly embarrassed look on her face whereas Luna and Hayate seem quite at ease. Behind me are Natsume and Persona. As soon as I step one foot foot out of the train, I am bombarded by the media.

"Ms. Sakura! How do you like the Alice City so far?" A reporter asks me excitedly, seeming to pop out of nowhere. There's an electronic device clutched in his hand. Probably for doing whatever it is that reporters in the Alice City do.

"Her other foot is still in the train, and you're asking her how she likes this city?" Natsume raises an eyebrow at the reporter, obviously challenging his methods.

I stifle a laugh at Natsume's remark. The guy certainly has a way with words.

The reporter looks a bit embarrassed but that is soon deterred for he proceeds to ask 'Mr. Hyuuga' (his words, not mine) questions instead.

"Mr. Hyuuga, what would you think your mom would say if she were here today?" The reporter asks Natsume, obviously very pleased by his choice of question.

I frown. Where else had I heard someone talk about his mom before?

Still slightly frowning to myself, I see Natsume clench his fists. His eyes are a darker shade of red than normal. Obviously the reporter had touched a _very_ sensitive topic. "That," he unclenches his fist, "—is _none_ of your business," he hisses venomously at the reporter.

The reporter looks taken aback by Natsume's answer and mumbles a quick apology before hastily darting away. I watch as he accidentally bumps into two other men. The reporter looks like he's panicking now.

Ha.

Serves him right.

I hear Persona chuckle. "Nice to see that your charm works here as well, Natsume," he mock applauds.

Natsume merely looks at Persona blandly, but doesn't answer. This just causes Persona to snicker even more. "Let's go," he walks ahead of me and Natsume towards where the other three are standing, "we have to go to the Tribute Center."

The drive—I mean the_ fly_—to the Tribute Center took hardly ten minutes. Yes, we actually flew in a helicopter (!) to the Tribute Center. I know I'm not supposed to be enjoying anything in this wretched place, but flying? Yeah, flying is probably one of my most favorite things ever. Especially since this was my first time in the air. However, the slight euphoria I had felt while flying was soon crushed when we reached the Tribute Center. The Tribute Center, like all the other buildings in the Alice City, is grand. As the helicopter lands onto the helipad in front of the building, I look up at it in awe. This building has at _least_ twenty floors.

I gulp nervously. The other tributes are probably in the building, too…

_Other tributes…_

"Girls, follow me," Luna's voice interrupts my thoughts. She beckons for me and Nobara to follow her inside the building.

Reluctantly, I walk after Luna.

"I don't want to go inside," Nobara whispers to me as we both walk side by side. I take a quick glance at Nobara. Her face is pale, and her eyes have the same emotion in them that I have.

_Fear._

"Me neither," I whisper back, my voice slightly quavering.

Nobara gives me a sad smile. She and I both know that we have absolutely no choice in the matter. I watch as Luna punches some numbers into a machine, and then the glass doors at the entrance of the building slides open. Immediately, I'm engulfed by a gush of cool air from inside the building. Probably the air conditioning, I muse. Taking a deep breath, I walk inside the building. It's like walking into a royal palace; the carpet is made out of some sort of plush red material and there's a reception like thing a few feet away from us, complete with people standing behind desks and all. (Like the ones they'd have at a super fancy hotel.) I look up at the ceiling and gape. There's huge crystal chandelier above our heads. Never have I ever seen such a big, royal looking chandelier in my life. I'd be crushed to pieces if it were to fall.

I wince slightly. The Games hasn't even started yet and I'm already thinking about different ways that I could be killed.

_Shit._

"Luna Koizumi!" A woman probably in her late thirties walks towards us, displacing herself from her position at a desk, "I see you're here with your tributes! Welcome!" She holds out her arms, in a welcoming gesture, I suppose.

"Thank you, it's good to be back," Luna tells the woman. "We get the penthouse, if I'm not wrong?"

The woman nods, "Of course," she says, "—the best is always reserved for District 5's tributes," her eyes flicker towards me at the last part and she gives me a weird look as if she knew some dirty little secret about me.

I blink.

_What the hell?_

Luna smiles politely at the woman, appearing to have missed the look she had given me, "We'll be on our way, then."

The woman nods. "Of course," she bows her head down, "If District 5 needs anything, _anything_ at all, please don't hesitate to call the service center." Again the woman's eyes flicker towards me when she says that.

"Thank you," Luna smiles politely at the woman, "We'll be going to the elevator now," she tells me and Nobara and then she heads over to the elevators which are a few feet away.

"Something to drink?" Another woman with a tray offers the two of us as I walk after Luna.

I politely shake my head, "No, thank you."

Nobara declines the drink as well.

"Are we going to our rooms now?" I ask Luna, once we're at the foyer, waiting for the elevator.

"That's correct," she nods, "You're going to meet your designers who will get you ready for tonight's opening ceremony."

I groan in distaste. The opening ceremony. I had_ completely_ forgotten about it. Ugh. I had seen the opening ceremony a bunch of times on the news. The opening ceremony is the time where each of the Districts parade around their tributes like they're pieces of meat about to be slaughtered. Well..I suppose we are in a way, but still, it's atrocious. Each district makes sure to doll up their tributes as much as possible since 'first impressions' are really important for getting good sponsors for the Games. I knew what was going to happen to me once we reached our rooms. I was going to meet my designer. She was going to scrutinize my body and then do a series of things such as waxing, plucking my eyebrows, whitening my teeth, cutting my hair etc etc. Then she was going to pick out an outrageous outfit for me and do my make-up and hair, and when I'll look into the mirror, I wouldn't even be able to recognize myself.

And I was absolutely right.

Once we get into the elevator, Luna presses level '45'. I look at the panel and raise my eyebrows. This building has 46 floors. 46 floors! That's just insane!

Although our rooms are on the 45th floor, it takes us pretty much just a few seconds to reach our floor. The elevator doors open to reveal a hallway. Luna, Nobara and I walk out of the elevator and it closes swift behind us.

"Mikan, your room is that one," Luna points to a door at the far left side of the hall, "—and Nobara, your room is that one," she refers to the room on the opposite side of the hall. "Your designers are waiting for you both inside the room. I'll meet you both once you're done." She gives us a slight nod. "Off you go now!" She pushes the two of us towards our respective rooms.

"See you," I mutter to Nobara and she nods. God only knows how the both of us will look once our designers are done.

Not wanting to go inside the room at all, I tread as slowly as possible to the room on the left. As much as I wanted this walk to last forever, unfortunately I'm in front of the door. I take a deep breath and keep muttering '_it's just some make-up'_ to myself like a mantra. And then I turn the doorknob.

"Ah, you must be Mikan Sakura."

A woman with thin rimmed specs, probably in her middle twenties, is sitting at a sofa in the living room. However, once she sees me enter, she swiftly gets up. She's wearing a black trousers with a blue formal button-up shirt with a grey blazer on top.

"Yes," I meekly say, a bit nervous by this super, professional looking woman.

She stretches her hand out, "I'm Shizune Yamanochi, your stylist."

I shake her hand, "Nice to meet you," I say.

"Likewise," her grip is strong. She takes her hand back and then puts it under her chin. I feel her eyes roam over my body and I suddenly feel extremely self-conscious.

_._After a couple more seconds of intense scrutinizing, Shizune speaks. "Alright, I've already decided what look we're going to be going with but since you're not as _tall _—_" _ I grimace at that. Ugh, why did everyone have to keep reminding me that I'm short?! "—as I expected we're going to have to make some adjustments."

"Okay…" I nod, still a bit ticked off by being called short.

"Follow me," she beckons, walking out of the living room into another room. The room looks like a mini-experiment lab. I shudder. This wasn't going to be fun… "This is the rest of the team," Shizune nods to the rest of her team members.

There's three other ladies. Each lady was wearing a different shade of blue. They were all sitting on some sofas at the far end of the room. The three of them were chattering amongst themselves but once they saw me, they stopped and then started introducing themselves.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" One of the ladies tells me excitedly.

"Yes, we've all just been _dying _to meet the infamous district transfer!"

My eyes widen at that. How did they know I was a district transfer?! They weren't supposed to know that! Noticing my surprised expression, the last lady merely chuckles. "Oh don't worry, dear," she tells me, her voice as smooth as honey, "we get to know these things because we're in the Inner circle of the Games organizational committee. The common public don't know."

"Enough," Shizune commands. "We need to start working,"

The three ladies nod. And then the torture session begins.

Okay, alright, it wasn't _really_ torture, but having complete strangers strip off your clothes and then place you on some sort of metal bed to wax your entire body? Yeah, that is actually quite embarrassing and painful. Not to forget they waxed my _entire_ body.

Yeah, _everything. _

Well not my eyebrows though. They just threaded that.

"Ow!" I hiss, once Lady-Number-1 (that's what I call her in my head, since I already forgot their names) rips off a wax strip from a very _sensitive _area.

"Sorry!" Lady-Number-1 says airily, though she doesn't seem sorry at all.

I scowl. I honestly don't see why I had to get a bikini wax. How in the world is it even going to help me for the Games? Shaking my head at the absurdity of all the things female tributes have to go through, I let out another howl of pain once yet another wax-strip has been ripped off.

After what seems like 10 hours (it was actually 45 minutes) my waxing session is over. Lady-Number-2 hands me a nightgown to wear. I eagerly slip it on.

"What's next?" I ask wearily.

"Your hair," she replies.

I groan as I follow her to a chair with a mirror in front of it. Once I'm seated on the chair, Lady-Number-3 begins combing my hair and Shizune gets all the materials ready. I cringe when I see her taking out some very sharp looking scissors. Pretty soon, Shizune has trimmed a decent amount of my hair. She then takes a tube out and applies the gooey substance to the tips.

"What color is that?" I nod towards the tube in her hand.

"It's red."

I bite my lip. So I was going to have red-colored tips. Didn't _anyone_ here ever ask for my opinion on anything?!

An hour and a half later, I'm standing in front of a full length mirror. Shizune has finished coloring my hair, has finished my make-up and I've even donned on the dress-no gown, she has made me wear.

I was absolutely right, I can't even _recognize_ myself right now. My gown is a black gothic looking, full-sleeved gown with intricate lace detailing. The gown hugs my curves (I didn't even _know_ that I had curves) in all the right places and it trails off to the ground. It's seriously gorgeous, something someone would wear to a masquerade ball or something. The neckline is a little too daring for my taste, as it plunges down quite low on my chest. My make-up complements the gown. Shizune had decided to go with a black smoky eye, complete with black eye-liner on both my lid and water line. She applied a soft powder concealer to give my face a 'glowing' look with a light red blush. She had curled my hair a bit, and let it fall down my back. Accompanied by my new red-tip dyed hair, I look positively badass even though I'm wearing a gown.

A perfect look for a tribute from District 5, I must say.

Shizune smiles. "Exactly what I was aiming for," she walks over to the dressing counter beside the mirror and picks up a box, "it's incomplete without this, though." She opens the box to reveal a breathtaking necklace.

"Is that…is that a diamond?"' I ask, in complete awe.

Shizune nods. "Black diamond," she corrects.

I take the necklace from the box. It's a very simple necklace, with a black diamond pendant, but there's just something about it…I can't even put words to it. I remove the good luck necklace that Misaki had given me from my neck, and place it on the dressing counter. I would wear that again, after tonigh.

Tentatively, I put the black diamond necklace around my neck.

"I'll fasten it," Shizune murmurs, as she comes up behind me. She fastens the clasp tightly.

"Thank you, Shizune." I softly say.

Shizune gives me a tight smile.

I take another good look at the mirror and although I hated to admit it, I looked good. Hopefully, I'd make a good first impression to get some sponsors. Shizune hands me another box, which are for my shoes. It's a four-inch black heeled stiletto.

"Isn't there anything else?" I ask a bit desperately. I knew, I just _knew_ that I was going to trip if I wore those killer heels.

Shizune shook her head. "No, you have to wear these shoes. You're already short as it is, these will make you look taller."

Scowling again at the mention of my short height, I gulp as I carefully put the heels on. I tentatively take a small step. And then another. And another. Before I manage to trip, I'm already halfway across the room. I let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully the shoes are comfortable, otherwise I would have to wobble.

"We have to go now to the 2nd floor," Shizune informs me. "Luna will meet you there."

Taking one last look in the mirror, I nod. "Alright, I'm ready to go."

I walk slowly behind Shizune as we both exit my room. Once we're out of the door, I look over to Nobara's door, on the other side of the hall. I wonder how she's doing…

Shizune presses the elevator button. Almost immediately, the doors swing open. I enter after Shizune.

"2nd floor, right?" I ask, my finger about to press the button for the 2nd floor.

"Yes."

I press the 2nd floor button, and then lean back against the railing. I watch as the floor numbers on the top screen of the elevator change from 45 to 44 and then eventually to 38. At 37, it comes to a halt and it slides open to reveal the new occupants of the elevator.

However, once the elevator door slides open, I see two very familiar faces. My eyes widen in shock and I let out a small gasp.

_Anna and Misaki._

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><p><strong>AN : **To the anon _**Lily,**_ who literally reviewed this story an hour or two before I decided to update : I have just updated! :) And about when the Games will start...hmm...in another 6-7 chapters or so? I have to write about Mikan meeting all the other tributes, their training and all of that stuff, so yeah it'll be another few chapters till the actual Games start. :)

I have addressed this issue in the Author's Note for the previous chapter, but I'll say it again here since I've gotten a few PM's regarding this : This story isn't solely about love. If you're expecting great declarations of love and things like that to happen soon...you'll be disappointed. You have been warned. But I'll just say this : I'm going to be following _quite_ a few parallels from the manga and canon :)

Also, I think this chapter has more of a Hunger Games vibe, now? Or is this just wishful thinking on my part...oops. (I even revealed two more tributes though! How exciting, rightt?)

Thank you so much for bearing with me and my terrible updating habits! I'm going to try my best not to be an utter fail at updating my stories. Let's see how that goes, haha. Feel free to PM for absolutely no reason at all! :)

**Carolle Royale**

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><p><em>August 6th, 2015<em>


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